Book Two: Some Unexpected Pirates
by RussetDivinity
Summary: <html><head></head>Rose Granger-Weasley returns for her second year at Hogwarts, eager to beat Scorpius Malfoy in every class, along with having a bit of fun for herself. However, she doesn't realize the sort of fun she might have until a group of pirates suddenly appear in the lake, turning her year from exciting to dangerous.</html>
1. At King's Cross

The platform at King's Cross was as crowded and bustling as it had been the previous year, but it felt different to Rose. Of course, it wasn't her first year going to Hogwarts, so she wasn't as wide-eyed as she had been, and there were people even younger and smaller than her getting ready to go on the train. Hugo was a year closer to being able to attend, and he was talking eagerly with Lily about how close it felt to when they would get to go on the train. Rose hadn't gone to the station before her first year, not even to see James off, and she almost envied the younger ones.

"There's a pair of Ravenclaws over there," her father said, looking at the two. "There are a lot of kids around here. Hermione, were there always this many students when we went to Hogwarts?"

"People are having more children now. The world's safer than when we were in school." Rose's mother kissed the top of her head and gave her a quick hug. "Now, don't let James convince you to get into trouble this year."

"James is too busy with his dancer girlfriend," Rose said, wrinkling her nose. Lujayn was nice, but she was trying to turn James into someone who would follow the rules, and that just felt strange. "Besides, he didn't get me into trouble last year." She didn't bring up that she could get into trouble just as well on her own. It was likely the exact opposite of what her mother would want to hear.

"Don't get into any trouble on your own, then," her mother said, and Rose made a face.

"You and Dad got into trouble all the time when you were my age," Rose said. "Why do I have to be better than you were?"

"Because that's how things are," her mother said. "Children should be better than their parents. The world needs to become a better place, and that's the only way it can happen." She was smiling, but there was something a little sad in that smile, as though she knew a story that she wasn't about to tell. The only thing Rose could think of was He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, who had apparently been so much worse than any parents anyone could have that people were still nervous to talk about him, even those like her who had been born after it all ended.

"Besides," her father said, clapping a hand on her shoulder, "we had a good reason for getting in trouble. People were in danger, and we helped them."

"What if there are people in danger this year?" Rose asked. "Can I help them, even if it gets me in trouble?"

Her parents shared a secret smile, and her mother said, "You're a clever girl, Rose. Use your best judgment. I'm sure you'll make the best choices."

The train whistle blew then, and after a few last good-byes to everyone who wouldn't be going to Hogwarts, Rose gathered up her trunk and the cage for her barn owl, Hellebore, and got onto the train. It started moving soon after she boarded, and she worked her way through the aisle, trying to find a compartment with people she knew.

Along the way, her thoughts kept going back to the year before. She had been too interested in making sure she could do better than Scorpius Malfoy at everything to break any rules or have any proper fun, but she had liked comparing her exam scores with everyone and seeing that she had done the best of her year, except in Charms. She'd beat him this year, she knew, but she'd also try to make some time for other things. She hadn't decided whether she would try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but if she thought she had the time, she might at least see if they would accept her as a reserve player. She'd find time to explore, and maybe to see if there were any troublemakers aside from James who would mentor her. She knew that James would in an instant, but it might be best to learn some tricks that came from outside the family.

She'd also have to find time to do some reading. Even though Albus had told her over summer that the princess who had come from another world was gone, Rose still wanted to know everything she could about what had happened. A lot of the transdimensional theory was beyond her, though each time she read about it, she understood a little more, and she'd been reading and rereading all through the summer. Maybe she could carry some books around while she explored. There had to be some hidden nooks that were good for illicit studying.

Halfway down the train, Rose spotted Ruby sitting in a compartment with Albus. The two of them were chatting excitedly, and even though she had spent the summer with her cousin, Rose was eager enough to see Ruby that she slipped into the compartment and set her trunk in the rack above them.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you," Rose said, sitting down next to Ruby. Her friend seemed tanner than the year before, and taller, and there were stickers on her trunk from various different countries, including the United States and Mexico.

"Of course not!" Ruby said, flinging her arms around Rose in a hug that nearly toppled her. Rose hugged her friend back and spared a quick smile for Albus, who looked a bit lost in the middle of the reunion. "It's so good to see you again. I'm sorry I didn't write more often, but my parents dragged me around the world on a trip to find magical creatures." She didn't sound at all annoyed about taking the trip; her blue eyes were alight, and she was grinning widely.

"Did you find anything?" Rose asked, wondering whether a pair of Muggles, even with a magical daughter, would be able to track down something magical.

Ruby shook her head. "They've been looking for magical creatures for years, and I guess since I'm magical, they thought I might lure them out of hiding. It didn't work, but I think they're planning another trip next summer." Her eyes lit up even more. "We might even go to Australia!"

"I wish I could travel to other countries," Albus said wistfully. "The best I get is from listening to Uncle Charlie's stories."

"At least they're interesting," Rose said. When Ruby looked between the two of them, confused, Rose explained, "Our Uncle Charlie does work with dragons on the continent. Whenever he comes over to visit, he tells us about what he's been doing and shows us his new scars." He didn't always have new scars, of course, but this time he'd lost a joint from one of his little fingers, and all the cousins had gone over to stare at it. "Sometimes he brings over something interesting."

"I wish I had an uncle like that," Ruby said with a sigh. "My parents were both only children, and so am I."

"Siblings are all right," Rose said, hoping to cheer Ruby up a little. They were going back to Hogwarts, after all, and for their second year. She shouldn't start it off by moping about something she couldn't change. "They're not great, though. I love Hugo, but he was a brat when he was younger. He'd throw a tantrum whenever he didn't get his way." She'd only ever gotten him to shut up by shouting at him, and that had landed her in trouble, too, which was even more annoying. At least he'd gotten calmer over the years.

"Lily wasn't that bad," Albus said. "Older brothers are annoying, though. You should be glad you don't have any of those."

"What didn't you like about James?" Rose asked. "He's kind of annoying sometimes, but he's still lots of fun." She'd always gotten along with James, much better than with any of her other cousins, sometimes even better than with Albus. Albus was her favorite, because he was quiet and kind, but James was the one who could always guess what she was thinking and always understood what she wanted. Sometimes the family joked that she and Albus had been born to the wrong families; she should have been James's sister, and Albus should have been Hugo's brother.

"You don't have to live with him," Albus said, making a face as though that was the end of the argument.

It might as well have been. After all, he was right. The closest she had ever come to living with James was when they stayed at the Burrow together – and even then, Rose shared a room with Lily while the boys all ended up together – and now that they were both Gryffindors, but even in Gryffindor Tower, they didn't see each other too often, since they had different classes and the dormitories were separated by gender and year. Even with those distances, Rose had to admit that she still sometimes got annoyed with James, though not as much as Albus probably did. She, at least, was the sort of person James would get along with more easily. "Well, you won't have to hang around him this year," she said. "You get to live with Scorpius again."

Albus's face lit up, and Rose nearly laughed at the joy on his face. "What?" he asked, frowning but unable to keep from smiling. "Rose, what are you smiling about?"

"Nothing," she said, but couldn't resist adding, "You like him more than you like us, don't you?"

"No!" Albus said quickly, and his flustered look only made Rose break out in giggles. "I love you, and James, and everyone else. You're my family. It's just that Scorpius is my best friend, and I haven't seen him in months. You missed Ruby, didn't you?"

"I did," Rose admitted. "And I'll admit that I missed Scorpius a little too. Things aren't as much fun without a rival." Now that she was going back, though, she could have something to do. Life was more fun when she had something or someone to prove herself against, and she was eager to get back to her fight against Scorpius. "Are either of you trying out for the Quidditch team?"

Ruby shook her head, and Albus nodded, a bit reluctantly.

"I'm not very good at flying," Ruby said, "and I want to focus on my work. Scorpius is probably going to want someone to study with, and if I end up studying with you, too, then I won't have any time for sports." She didn't sound at all put out by that, as though it were little more than a minor inconvenience.

"There aren't enough people on the Slytherin team," Albus said. "The captain made Scorpius and me promise we'd try out."

Scorpius was going to be on a Quidditch team. A sudden, irrational burst of competitiveness burst up inside Rose, and she decided right then and there that she would try out for the Gryffindor team. She would be a Keeper, and she would be the best Keeper the team had ever seen, even better than her father had been. A moment later, she realized that there wasn't any certainty that Scorpius would make the team, and that she would need time to beat him in her classes. That was, after all, their true battleground. Quidditch would only be secondary, if it was a competition at all.

They passed the hours until they reached Hogwarts with talking about their summers, and when they reached the school, the three of them found a carriage to share. Albus left once they reached the gates, and Rose and Ruby had to part at the Great Hall to go sit with their houses. Rose found a good spot among a few Gryffindors of her year that she'd befriended, and together they waited for Zahradnik's start-of-year speech.


	2. Gryffindors

The speech was short: a welcome back to all the old students and a first-time welcome to all the new ones who had gathered to be sorted. The Sorting Hat sang a song about learning and excitement, and once all the new first years had been sorted, Zahradnik reminded everyone about the rules – adding with a glance at the Gryffindor table that the Forbidden Forest was just that – before the food appeared.

The feast was just as delicious as it had been the previous year, and in the midst of conversations, Rose loaded her plate with chicken and buckwheat. Across the table from her, a fourth-year named Roger McDermott was bragging about how he was going to get into the forest without getting caught. James, who sat a few seats down, leaned past a second-year and laughed.

"Let's see if you can go farther than I did last year," he said. "I made it so far in that I couldn't even see the edge of the trees."

"Show me where you went and I'll go even farther," Roger said.

"Going together into the forest isn't a challenge at all," James said. "If we go together, we'll have to go at night."

"That's fine with me," Roger said. "Pick a day, and I'll go there." He took a large bite of shepherd's pie and added, "Just not on the full moon. I've heard there's werewolves in there."

James shrugged. "If you insist, but I've never seen a werewolf."

"That's because you've only gone during the day," Rose said. James glared at her for that, and she grinned in return, which made him laugh.

"You're lucky you're younger than me," he said. "Otherwise I'd have to duel you for that."

Rose laughed. "You'd duel me for telling the truth?"

"I'd duel you for insulting my honor." Turning to Roger, James said, "I don't think there are any werewolves in the forest, but I don't blame you for wanting to be careful. We'll go on the new moon. It'll be scarier then, anyway."

Roger paled a little but he grinned nevertheless. "As long as I'm the only one you bring in there at night, it's a deal. The new moon of October?"

"If not then, then Halloween," James said. "I'm not sure when the new moon is, but at least I can always remember Halloween." Most people around him laughed at that, and those that didn't were deep in conversations of their own.

"Don't be so sure about being the only one he brings in there at night," a young woman said from the other side of James. She leaned forward a bit to be included in the conversation, and Rose recognized Lujayn, James's girlfriend from the end of last year. She had looked strange at first, since her skin was a bit paler than before and she had died her hair bright yellow, but her eyes were the same dark brown, and her voice still had a hint of an accent that she claimed came from her mother. She had already taken off her school robe, revealing a high-collared brown jacket which was apparently the height of fashion in Wales, at least according to Rose's cousin Molly. It looked far better on Lujayn than it had on Molly, and Rose wondered whether it took a certain kind of person to wear it right. If it did, Lujayn was almost certainly that sort; she was bright and artistic, with a dreaminess about her that made it strange that she would have ended up in Gryffindor.

James was turning bright red, and Lujayn laughed and kissed his cheek, which only made him blush harder. "Not now," he whispered, though he couldn't keep a smile from his face.

"Why not?" Lujayn asked. "Are you embarrassed about your girlfriend?"

"No, it's just –"

"It's okay," she said. "You can take Roger into the forest first. I won't be jealous." She smiled at Roger, who smiled back, looking a bit distracted. Lujayn had that effect on boys, Rose had noticed, though it wasn't nearly as much of an effect as Victoire could have.

"What did you do over summer?" Rose asked when the conversation grew a bit quieter. "Everyone else I know got tanner."

"It wasn't summer for me," Lujayn said, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "My parents brought me to Chile, as far south as they could. It was fun to see penguins and go hiking through the mountains, but I won't get to have a proper summer until next year."

"Maybe they'll take you back to Chile for Christmas," James said.

"Not a chance. My parents are the winter type. They don't like heat or sunshine, and I don't understand them one bit." She stabbed a steamed carrot with her fork and bit it in half with more force than she needed. As she chewed, though, her mood brightened, and she added, "I did like the mountains, though. We went on a trip through the Andes, or at least the parts that would be cold and snowy, and I learned a lot of Spanish and Portuguese."

"Why Portuguese?" Rose asked.

"There were a lot of Brazilian tourists in the group," Lujayn said. "They could speak English and Spanish all right, but if I wanted to talk about anything interesting, I had to pick up some Portuguese. I couldn't just talk to my parents the whole time, and the only person my age who spoke Spanish was trying to be an opera star and wouldn't stop singing." She touched her nose, almost tentatively, then turned to James. "Does my nose look all right to you? It doesn't look too red or anything?"

"It looks fine," James said. "Why are you so worried about it?"

"I almost got frostbite on the trip," she said. "One of the Brazilian boys did, and he had to go off to a hospital somewhere. I never heard what happened to him, though a lot of people were talking about how they might have to cut off some of his toes." She stabbed a few more carrots and ate them. "James, you're probably the best boyfriend I've had."

"Why do you say that?" James asked.

"Because you haven't once been jealous of me, even though I keep talking about those boys I met on the mountain." She grinned, and it was the first time she had looked remotely wicked. "Those exotic, dark-eyed, beautifully accented boys, who thought I was so interesting, this English girl with the strange name…"

"If you're not going to be jealous, then neither will I," James said, and he gently took her chin in his fingers and kissed her. It was the first time Rose had ever seen James be gentle with anyone, and although the second-year next to him was making a face, Rose couldn't quite bring herself to make fun of her cousin. Lujayn was changing him, and even if she did want him to stay the boy who had dared her to climb to the roof of the Burrow when she was eight, maybe the changes would be good.

No one was going to change her, though. She was determined of that.

By the time James and Lujayn finished their kissing, dinner had vanished and been replaced by dessert. Rose helped herself to a large slice of pudding which was even better than Grandma Molly's – though she'd never tell her grandmother that – and asked Lujayn, "Why did you dye your hair? I thought you liked it dark."

Lujayn took a lock of her golden hair between her fingers and twisted it a little, looking at the strands. The year before, when a small craze for dying hair in wild colors had swept through the older girls, she had insisted that she would never dye her hair, because it was beautiful just the way it was. "I missed the sun," she said. "I thought I ought to have at least a bit of sunlight in my life, so I went out and got it dyed by some witch on Diagon Alley. I'm not sure how long it will last, but she told me it would fade out all at once instead of my hair just growing out and being dark and yellow at the same time."

"That might look nice, though," James said.

"You think everything looks nice on me," Lujayn replied, and they kissed again. This time, again, Rose didn't make fun of them, though it took flexing her foot until it cramped to keep from giggling. James had never been the type to fall for a girl – for any girl – and she couldn't wait until she had a chance to tease him for it.

There was something about the Gryffindor table that Rose loved but couldn't quite put her finger on. They had something the other houses couldn't mimic; it was a camaraderie, she supposed, something born out of their collective desire for adventure. Even the quieter ones like Lujayn had that desire, that wish to reach out and grasp the world between their hands. There was no ambition in it, as the Slytherins might have; the Gryffindors only wanted to do it to prove that they could. Why else would they want to do anything?

There was also a love of fun about them, a sense that things would work out best for everyone if they were just easygoing about things. When they were serious, that was when something terrible had happened, and then… well, then it was time to fear their wrath.

Once dessert was finished, everyone got up and headed for the common room. Lujayn was a Prefect, and she called the first-years to her while telling James to head up with the rest of them. He insisted that he wanted to stay with her, and she told him that, since he wasn't a Prefect, he would have to give her a very good reason to let him lead the first-years up too.

"I love you," James said, and Lujayn froze. Rose hung back a little to hear how he would continue. "I love you like shadows against stars, and like stars against the sky. I love you with all the vastness of space and with everything that's ever seen the night. I love you, and I haven't seen you in months, and I want to stay with you."

Rose didn't know how to respond to that, and apparently, Lujayn didn't either. James had never been that earnest about anything before, but now, as he took Lujayn's hand, Rose didn't see any hint that he might be joking or anything but completely serious.

Lujayn lifted his hand to her mouth and let her lips brush against his skin. "You can stay," she said, "but only if you don't tease the first-years. It's their first night, and I don't want you to scare them."

James smiled, and the two of them led the first-years up to Gryffindor Tower. Rose trailed along with everyone else, wondering at the scene she had just witnessed. It was strange to think that James might be growing up, and she couldn't help but hope that his outburst then had just been because he got very excited about things. Uncle Harry had told them over summer that he'd been a bit too dramatic when he had been James's age, so perhaps it was only that.

Thinking took up the rest of Rose's evening, and even when she lay down to go to sleep, her head was full of how serious James had looked earlier. He couldn't be that serious; they got along best when he wasn't, and she still wanted to get along with him. It would be strange if he started acting mature and she was still an over-eager twelve-year-old.

That night, her dreams were full of loneliness, but also of hunched over crones dressed all in black and carrying orange cats on their shoulders, and Rose woke very confused and wondering if it meant anything at all.


	3. The First Day

The first day of classes wasn't until two days after the train brought them to Hogwarts, but on that day, Rose sprang out of bed and pulled on her robes. Her fellow second-year girls were slower to get out of bed, and by the time the first of them had finished combing her hair, Rose was ready to head down to the Great Hall for breakfast. She brought her book bag with her, enjoying the familiar weight pressing down on her shoulder and across her chest.

The ceiling of the Great Hall was gray, and Rose sighed. She hadn't planned much on going outside that day, but she had been looking forward to walking around the grounds, since the day before had also been rainy. Maybe it would clear up by the time classes were through. She wouldn't mind a little mud on her robes and shoes, and it wasn't even the rain that bothered her. She just wanted there to be people outside for her to see, and if it was raining, there would be very few people outside.

She hoped it wouldn't be cold. Over the summer, she had outgrown her Weasley sweater from the previous Christmas, and none of the others were quite as good.

When she got to the Charms class, there was a fire burning in the middle, and Baumhauer smiled at her as she entered. "Early again, Rose? Maybe you can try to copy this spell by the time class is out. It's no ordinary fire," he added as she set her bag on a chair and started to walk around it.

By the time twelve other students had arrived, Rose had figured out that it wasn't a spell that had any sort of arcane elements – though the professor had assured them that he wouldn't teach them those until their sixth year – but by then it was nearly time for class, and Baumhauer waved her back to her seat. Disappointed that she couldn't start the year with something exciting and impressive, she sat down and sighed, looking at the fire again. There had to be something she had missed, something she would pick up before the class was over. Scorpius was good at Charms, and if she wanted to do better than him, she would have to start off strong.

Maybe Ruby could help her. After all, Scorpius had both her help and Albus's, and even if she had James to teach her a few things, it couldn't be so bad to accept some help from other friends. While Baumhauer welcomed the class back, Rose pulled out a sheet of parchment and began taking hurried notes on the fire.

The first class was easy, but Baumhauer assured them that it would get harder over the year, and by their third year, things would be much more rigorous. Their extra credit was to reproduce the fire as best they could, and he told them that they could drop by any time during the rest of the day to inspect it. Rose put it to the back of her mind for her other classes, and it was lucky she did so. None of the other professors were going as easy on them as they had the first year, and she knew that she might actually have to work to get good marks.

Defense Against the Dark Arts looked to be the most exciting: they were starting the first of two years studying magical creatures. This year would be largely theory, but next year they would get into practical lessons. The first week would be about werewolves, and Rose felt a little smug as she looked around at the others in her class. She hadn't ever met him, but the history of the Weasley family had included a werewolf, and she'd heard plenty of story about him.

In Herbology, she caught a glimpse of Scorpius before Longbottom started to welcome the second years, and she shot him a quick, teasing smile. He returned it shyly, and she took a chance to look over him and gauge her competition. He hadn't grown much over the summer, and he was just as pale as before. Even his eyes seemed just as blank as the sky above them, as though they were clouds that might or might not rain. When he saw that she was still looking at him, a sharp flush of pink rose into his cheeks, and she looked away quickly, turning her attention to the different plants that Longbottom was telling them they would be working with that year.

History of Magic was as dull as ever, and Rose only took notes so that she could pass the exams and be top of her class. It wouldn't be very hard for this subject; she was sure that she and Scorpius were the only ones who bothered to study, and Binns didn't give out very difficult exams. The only really interesting thing was how magical society had changed over time, and whenever something about that came up in class, she started writing it down. Most of it, though, was still names and dates, which she would memorize just as long as she had to before forgetting them.

She managed to run into Ruby on the way to Transfiguration, which the Gryffindors shared with the Ravenclaws that year, and they sat together, though they didn't have a chance to talk until after class. It was an interesting class, though, involving turning a string into a metal chain. Rose's, naturally, was the best, but Ruby's wasn't bad either, and nearly everyone had at least managed to make their string either shiny or change the structure into a chain, even if that chain was made of cotton thread.

"I wish the sun would come out soon," Ruby said as they left the classroom. "I already know I'm going to get pale once November starts, but I thought I could still be nice and brown until the middle of October."

"Maybe it'll be an early spring, and you can be brown again by April," Rose said. If it was an early spring, she could have strawberries sooner, too.

"I hope so," Ruby said. "Sometimes I don't even get pale properly, and my skin turns yellow." She poked at her hand and made a face. "I look a little like a goblin, then, and I don't like it. I like looking like a human."

They had to part then, and Ruby gave Rose a quick kiss on the forehead before racing off with the other Ravenclaws. Rose knew she had to keep up with the rest of her class if she wanted to get a good seat, but for a moment, all she could do was stand where she was and look after Ruby and her swaying dark braid, wondering why there were butterflies fluttering around her stomach.

She had to run to reach the next class, Potions, and the professor glanced up from taking roll to give her an icy look as Rose dropped into her seat, out of breath. Blushing, she gasped, "Sorry. I got distracted."

The professor smiled. "I know what it was like to be a child. Try not to get distracted in the future." Rose nodded, and the lesson went on.

The rest of the day, Rose didn't see anyone from any other house except in brief glimpses. She did spot Scorpius again, and this time he met her stare with a cold one of his own, but they both broke into grins just before passing each other. Hers was brighter than his, but then, she hadn't expected anything else. He was like some kind of drifting spirit, pale and colorless, and she felt fully alive, even with the gray sky outside. Besides, she was going to win this year. She was going to win everything.

They got homework, of course, and even though many of her housemates complained about it, Rose was eager to dive in. There were chapters to read and essays to write, and grades to lord over other people. With Ruby and Albus, of course, she would be kind about it, but if she ever had a chance to show off to Scorpius, then she would take it without a second thought.

As she sat down to dinner, Rose thought that it had been the best first day back ever, even though it had only been her second first day at Hogwarts. Maybe the days would only get better and better after this, until they became absolutely brilliant and wonderful by her seventh year. As she dug into her food, she felt as though she was glowing, and she noticed the same thing in the people around her. No matter how much they complained about the homework or about Binns, they were glad to be back. They had homes and loving families, but Hogwarts was different. It was better, in a way that none of them could really explain. Maybe someday they could, but for now, they were children, chattering through full mouths.

Rose changed into her pajamas before starting on her homework, and she sat by the fire, listening to everyone around her. James had started an Exploding Snap tournament, and judging from his glances, was just waiting for the Prefects to all go to bed before he could start the gambling. He wasn't a Prefect, of course, and she didn't think his parents had expected him to be.

Perhaps she could be a Prefect. That would be another way to beat Scorpius; it wasn't academic, but it was still power.

"Are you still obsessed with beating that Malfoy?" James asked between two of his games. "Don't tell me it's going to turn into one of those rivalries that turn into romances. You can do a lot better than him."

"I'm twelve," she said, looking up from a chapter on Indian magical practices. "It's a bit early to worry about romance, isn't it?"

"I'm warning you for the future," he said, leaning against the edge of the fireplace. The first time she'd seen him do that, she had been afraid that the sparks would land in his hair and light it on fire, but now she thought she would just laugh if that happened. "I think the world might end if Rose winds up with a boyfriend."

"And why's that?" she asked. "Am I too sweet and dainty for any boy to be worthy of me?" If he started trying to be an overprotective older brother, she would have to hex him.

"Not at all," James said. "I'm afraid for them. You'll overwhelm any boy who tries to fall in love with you."

Rose rolled her eyes. "I've found a little flaw in your argument, aside from you assuming that Scorpius is the one I'll wind up with." She didn't close the book, but she did set a scrap of parchment on her page to hold her place. "What if I fall in love with a girl?"

"They'll be overwhelmed by you, too," James said. "If you have to fall in love, wait until you're seventeen and fall in love with a vampire. One of them might have a chance at being your equal."

"You're ridiculous," Rose said, pulling her red hair behind her. It had been tumbling over her shoulders and getting in the way of her writing, and she would have to braid it sometime. "I don't know why I put up with you."

"Because I'm so cute," he said. "And you ought to get some sleep. Tomorrow's another big day." He grinned, and Rose threw a crumpled piece of parchment at him. It missed, and he laughed as it landed in the fire. She did pack up her things and head for the dormitory, though, since he was right. It would be a big day tomorrow.

That night, she lay awake and thought about Ruby and that quick, sweet forehead kiss.


	4. In the Clock Tower

Rose's favorite place on the grounds would have to be the clock tower. She had discovered it the previous winter, and even though it would sometimes be too cold or too hot, it was a good place to work. It was closer to Gryffindor Tower than the library was, so if she needed a quiet place to study, she would carry her books there and read, with only the ticking of the giant second hand to keep her company. No one else ever came up there, but she didn't mind. It was a place she could go to be alone without ever feeling lonely.

The absolute best part had to be the view. From the tower, she could see everything: the forest, the lake, the grounds, the Quidditch pitch… the whole school was stretched out beneath her. If there had been dragons, as Hagrid no doubt wished there were, she could pretend to be a princess in a tower. Actually, she would probably have Ruby pretend to be the princess so she could be a knight. Rose didn't think she could sit around looking pretty all day while someone else had all the fun of saving her. If she had to be a princess, she wanted to be a princess who could use a sword, or at the very least knew her way around a bow and arrow.

Ruby could be a princess, though. She looked the part, and would until she started getting pale from the clouds, and as long as her palace had a library, she would likely be perfectly happy as a princess. Rose could be her knight-errant, running off on quests and returning to receive her payment, but denying everything except a soft, small kiss on the forehead.

Rose shook her head to clear her thoughts, glad no one else was around to see her blush. It had been days since the kiss, and Ruby hadn't given her another, but she still couldn't get it out of her mind. Whenever she saw Ruby, she felt the butterflies again, and no matter how she tried to push them aside, they wouldn't go. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted them to go, either. She rather liked how she felt around Ruby, unfamiliar as it was. The only thing that kept her from doing something about it was the conversation she'd had with James the first night after classes. It wasn't that what James had said had convinced her of anything – falling in love with a vampire was possibly the most foolish thing she could do – but what she had said to him. She was too young for romance, and that was that. This was just a little crush, and in a month or so, she would be over it and she and Ruby could have their old friendship back.

Or perhaps she wouldn't be over it. Maybe it would just stay tucked inside her somewhere, and she would even start pining, or writing bad poetry. That thought made her laugh, and more than anything else, it brought her out of her thoughts and back to her homework. She had been trying to memorize the differences between two very similar kinds of mushrooms, and she couldn't do that if she was busy mooning over her best friend.

"I'm not going to fall in love," she said to no one, looking down at the pages of her textbook and trying to make the words connect in her mind. "I wouldn't have time to beat Scorpius if I did."

Only the steady ticking of the clock answered her.

But maybe it would be good for her to have an interest outside of trying to beat Scorpius. After all, it wouldn't be healthy if it turned into an obsession, especially if he suddenly started getting better than her in classes – not that that would happen. She didn't need to stop trying to be the best, or even change it from her top priority, but it might be nice to have something else to do, something that didn't revolve around him. After all, if her life became nothing but Scorpius, then he would have won in a different way.

Rose groaned and leaned her head back against the wall. This was all so much more complicated than she had thought, and rather exhausting besides.

After a few more minutes of looking at pictures of mushrooms and reading (and rereading) the descriptions below, Rose closed her copy of _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi _and got to her feet. She hadn't given up on getting any work done today, but she did need a bit of a break, something to clear her mind. With a sigh, she got to her feet and began pacing the tower. Maybe she could figure out how the clock worked and whether there was anything special about it or if it was just a giant clock. Her Grandpa Arthur had filled his retirement with a study of Muggle things, and maybe he would be interested in hearing about whether the clock at Hogwarts was anything like Muggle clocks.

For a few minutes, she looked up at the gears, memorizing their positions and tracing the pattern of movement from one to the next. She thought she understood, but she would have to look at other clocks to compare it. Maybe there was a museum somewhere, or she could wait until Christmas and beg her parents to get her a pocket watch. It would have to be an old pocket watch, though, since the clock tower of Hogwarts likely hadn't been changed in decades or even centuries.

She was about to return to her work when movement out of the window caught her eye. When she looked again, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but then she spotted it: the lake was rippling.

They weren't the sort of ripples that would come from a windy day or from rain, and the day was still aside from the motion of the water. They were the sort of ripples she might see if she were down by the surface, watching someone come up from beneath. To be able to see them this high, though, meant that whatever was coming up had to be very large indeed. For a moment she was frozen with fear, but then curiosity struck, and she ran to the stairs. She might be able to see whatever was surfacing from inside the clock tower, but if possible, she wanted to be down by the lake to get a good look at it.

September had been a gray month, and no one was outside aside from people preparing for the Quidditch season. She wasn't sure when the tryouts would be, but she had already decided not to bother. She was a skilled enough flier, but there were already so many people in Gryffindor interested in being on the team that she had decided to focus on her schoolwork. She didn't need to be both a brilliant student and an excellent Quidditch player. That could be Albus's glory. He'd already told her that he was going to the Slytherin tryouts, and she'd wished him the best. She'd even wished Scorpius well, hoping that maybe all his time in practice would give her an edge.

Rose took the stairs down the castle two at a time, one hand skimming over the railing, ready to catch herself if she missed a step or the staircase happened to move at just the wrong time. She didn't want to tumble down and break a bone, even if Madam Longbottom could fix it in just a few seconds. The time it would take her to get to the Hospital Wing would be less time for her to see whatever was rising out of the lake, and she didn't want to miss a moment.

She was breathless when she burst out of the school, but that didn't stop her from sprinting down to the lake and skidding to a stop just before she splashed into the water. The surface was roiling now, and she was amazed that no one else had come out to look. As she stood on the muddy bank and caught her breath, Rose spotted the first sign of what was rising out of the water. It wasn't the squid, as she'd thought it might be, though now there was far too much motion for it to be the squid, no matter how large it was supposed to be.

It was a mast.

The mast was exactly like one out of the children's books her grandparents would get her for Christmas when she was very little. As soon as she saw it, she was reminded of pirates sailing the seven seas in search of buried treasure, and as the rest of the ship came up, she realized that she was right. The mast did belong to a pirate ship, and one that should have been beautiful if it hadn't been covered in cannon holes and scorch marks.

It might have been a galleon, or a frigate, or one of those other Muggle ships that her Grandpa Arthur liked to make models of to give to various members of the Weasley family. Rose had never bothered to learn the difference, but even she could tell that this ship was made for speed. Once it was up and all the lake water had fallen off of it, it edged around the lake, finally settling several yards from shore but close to the castle. By now, a few other people had ventured out, though they stood further from the lake than Rose did.

A longboat hung off the back of the ship, and peering close, Rose could see men climbing into it and lowering it to the water. They rowed it across the lake, whose waters had begun to settle but still rocked both the ship and the longboat in a way that would have made Rose seasick if she'd ever had the misfortune of being seasick. As it was, it just looked exciting, although there was one moment where she thought that one of the men might topple off the boat and into the water.

The sailors made straight for Rose, and she hurried along the shore to find a place where they might bring their boat out of the water a bit. She stopped by a flatter stretch that had more sand than grass and waved her arms, and the sailors changed their course. A few of the students who had come out were edging closer to the lake, and Rose wondered why none of the professors were there. It was possible they just hadn't noticed what was happening to the lake, but she would have thought that someone would at least glance out their window. Of course, considering how drab the day had looked until then, maybe they were more interested in reading or grading papers, or whatever it was that professors did.

When the sailors dragged the boat ashore, Rose got a better look at them. Most were men, but there were a few women among their number, and they all looked soaked and bedraggled. Their clothes were torn, and several had cuts and bruises on their faces, some of which were wrapped in wet bandages. As they settled the boat onto the land, one of them, a man with long dark hair and a rough beard, approached Rose and asked, "Young lady, could you tell us where we are?"

"This is Hogwarts," she said. "You're in the British Isles."

"The British Isles," he murmured, as though he had never heard the name before and belonged to some exotic new land. "Tell me, how far is that from Essemeulia? We have a vital message for Her Grace, Queen Avina, long may she reign."

"Long may she reign," the other sailors echoed, and all of them looked at Rose expectantly.

For one of the first times, she was speechless.


	5. A Fatherly Man

Rose wasn't speechless for long. "You're in a different world from Essemeulia," she said, pleased at how easily the name rolled off her tongue. "I've been studying transdimensional theory, though, and I can probably help you get back there, if you'd like."

The dark-haired man smiled. "You must be remarkably clever to know such things at such a young age. Tell me, then, how old are you?"

"I'm twelve," she said, lifting her chin. Being twelve years old was hardly something to be ashamed of, young as it was. "I'm top of all my classes, and a good bit smarter than some older students." Bragging wasn't anything to be ashamed of, either, as long as she could back up her claims, and she certainly could.

"I don't doubt it," the dark-haired man said. "What's your name, then, clever girl?"

"Rose Granger-Weasley. What's yours?"

"Tatius Anholts. Captain Tatius Anholts, if you want to be precise." He looked back over his crew. "Is there any way I can get some help for them?"

Rose opened her mouth to reply, but her voice was cut off by an older boy running up. "I can help, sir. I'm Edith Grint, the Head Girl." She glanced at Rose, and Rose could tell that Edith wanted her to just head off and do whatever it was twelve-year-old girls did. She wouldn't be sent away so easily, though. These were her pirates, and she intended to stick with them. When Edith saw that Rose wouldn't leave, she turned back to Captain Anholts and said, "Anything you need, just let me know."

"A good number of my men need medical attention," he said. "Some food wouldn't go amiss, either."

"I'll take you to see Madame Longbottom, then," Edith said, and with another glance at Rose, she headed for the castle. Captain Anholts headed after her, but he glanced back and gave Rose a quick wink. Once the two of them were gone and it was clear the other students planned to keep lingering and watching instead of approaching, she headed to the group by the boat.

"Where did you come from?" Rose asked. "Are you really from Essemeulia?"

"Not a bit," one of the women said. "We're travelers, the lot of us. We just happened to be headed there because…" She paused and coughed, while another supported her.

"Because we have business there," a man said. "Miss Granger-Weasley –"

"Just Rose," she said quickly. _Miss Granger-Weasley _sounded far too formal, and she was only twelve.

"Rose," the man said firmly. "We need the help of people who are old enough to properly help us. We don't need children hanging around. Why don't you run off and play with your dolls while the real adults help us get ready to fight again."

"Leave off, Tavian," a woman said. "If she's offering help, we'll take it." The woman stepped forward and held out a bandaged hand for Rose to shake. "Ignore him. He treats the cabin boy even worse."

"That cabin boy deserves it," Tavian muttered, but no one paid him any mind.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Rose," the woman said. "I'm Liesa Hara, and you've already met Tavian Balan. Just behind me are Rihards Lundr –" A man with long brown hair nodded "—Vittore Slzoa –" The wounded woman gave a faint smile "—Lula Rinald –" One of the women supporting Vittore held up a hand in greeting "—and Rike Rosta." The other woman nodded, though most of her attention was on Vittore. "I think the first way you can help us is to tell us where we are."

"You might as well sit down," Rose said. "It's kind of a long story."

"We've got plenty of time," Liesa said. Everyone except Tavian gathered around Rose, though the two women supporting Vittore helped her over to the boat and eased her onto the edge. "Impress us with your cleverness, Rose."

Rose knew she was being flattered, and she liked it. Sitting on the cool, damp ground, with the wondering eyes of people more than twice her age – at least as far as she could tell their ages – looking at her wonderingly was easily the best feeling in the world. After taking a moment to look around at all of them, she launched into a history of Hogwarts. She touched on each of the founders and told them about the houses – with perhaps a slight bias in favor of Gryffindor – and talked a bit about the classes that the students would take. Most of her history lesson was about the second wizarding war, with particular mention of what her parents had done.

Throughout the story, Edith returned to help lead the most wounded people off to the Hospital Wing, and Tavian wound up rowing her over to the ship to help with those who were too badly hurt to have made the attempt to shore. Sometimes Rose would glance up to see bodies being levitated by Madame Longbottom and some of the older students, and she would feel a bit nervous at the thought that they might not survive. She wasn't sure why she cared so much, aside from perhaps hearing Albus's story from about a year ago about what he had found in Essemeulia. This felt _real _to her, in a way her parents' stories about the war against Voldemort never had. Still, she had an audience, and she wasn't about to give that up just because she wanted to run off somewhere and stare at the lake.

"That was fascinating," Liesa said when Rose had finished. "So everyone here has some sort of magic?"

Rose nodded. "Does anyone on your crew have magic?" She remembered what Avina had said about her magic and had tried studying it a little, but it didn't seem to work on Earth. If there were a chance, no matter how dangerous, she would want to go to Essemeulia and see what she could do there.

"A few people, but not much," Liesa said. "If what you said about the wands is true, then we'd be just about useless here." She sighed and got to her feet. "Thank you, Rose. Our captain hasn't told us how long we'll stay, but if we stay long enough, I'd like to talk with you again. You are clever, as you say, and if you do know Avina, then there are many things we'll need to ask you."

"I have other friends who met Avina," Rose said, springing to her feet. "Albus, Ruby, and Scorpius. Do you want to meet them, too?"

"Maybe," Liesa said. "I will have to see what the captain's plan is, but I think he might like to meet your friends, especially if they're as clever as you." Liesa smiled, and Rose decided she would try to meet up with the rest of her group of four sometime. She hadn't seen much of Albus since summer, and she already missed him. Ruby was her best friend, so she would have to spend time with her, and if the rest of them were there, then Scorpius would likely have to be, too.

As everyone else rose and brushed grass off their clothes, Captain Anholts returned. He looked more serious than before, and Liesa's face fell when he approached. The two of them had a whispered conversation, and then he turned his attention to the remaining crew members. "Aside from the few left on the ship to tend it and Lula and Rike, who decided to stay with Vittore, you three are the only able-bodied crewmen I have left. We have many repairs to make, so we'll likely be here for a while. If we're in luck, everyone will be healed before our repairs are finished, so we can leave as soon as our ship is ready." He smiled, but it was faint and vanished quickly. "Not everyone will survive. I already know that Miles and Laila will die within a few days, and the healer still isn't sure whether Vittore will survive."

Tavian looked away and rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve, and Rose couldn't help blurting out, "But they have to live. How can Madame Longbottom not save them?"

Captain Anholts looked at her pityingly and said, "Their wounds were caused by a monster that does not live in this world. No one here has any experience with it, and so she would not know how to save them. I don't blame her for this. When we return to our home, I will seek vengeance, but until then, we will have to continue to survive, for all their sakes."

"Laila would want us to go on," Liesa murmured. With a shaky smile, she turned to Rose and said, "She was my twin sister. I could always tell what she wanted, and I know now, sure as she's telling me." She pressed her sleeve against one eye before turning to Captain Anholts. "So, do you want us to head back to the ship and get started on the repairs? There's aren't many of us left, but I think we could get some decent work done before nightfall."

"We're resting today," Captain Anholts said. "Tavian, when you can, could you collect the rest of the crew? I'm giving everyone an evening of shore leave. I spoke to the head of this school, a woman named Zahradnik, and she's promised us as much food as we need." His smile this time was stronger, and he went on, "Not one of you will work until you're absolutely ready."

"Thank you, sir," Rihards said. It was the first time Rose had heard him speak, and she was sure that if she were ten years older she would have fallen in love.

Captain Anholts stepped past Liesa and Rihards to approach Rose, who tried to draw herself up as tall as she could. She still felt a strange heaviness in her heart, but she didn't want him to see her as a pitiable girl. She wanted him to know that she was clever, and that she could do just about anything Edith Grint could, even if Edith had five years on her. "There is a superstition in my home that the first person in a new world that you speak to is bound to you in some way. I must admit to being a somewhat superstitious man, and so I hope, in this case, that it is true."

"Thank you, sir," Rose said, as something puffed up inside her like a balloon.

The captain grinned and set a hand on her shoulder. "Though a good many of us may be busy in the coming weeks, I'd like you to know that you're always welcome on my ship, no matter what."

"You're welcome to visit me, too," she said brightly.

"I'm not sure I'll have much time, but if I do, I'll certainly try to take you up on that offer," he said. "Is there some way you have of contacting me?"

"I've got an owl," Rose said. "Hellebore can reach you easily."

"I'll make sure my men don't shoot down any owls," Captain Anholts said with another wink. "We'll send you a message back as soon as we can." He turned back to his other crew members then and began discussing how to handle the repairs as they went up to the castle. Rose almost ran up to follow them, but instead she turned and looked out at the lake.

Things were changing, and maybe they would change for the better, as her mother hoped. Rose certainly didn't want things to get worse, but at the moment, she didn't particularly care what changed. Something was happening, and maybe she could have an interesting life, even more interesting than her parents had.

But first she had some pirates to befriend. With an eager grin, she ran toward the castle, ready to tease James about how much fun she would have.


	6. In the Hospital Wing

Rose hadn't expected the sailors to become a part of life at Hogwarts, and for the most part, they weren't. They didn't eat in the Great Hall – though she had wanted a chance to talk to them again – but in the kitchens, or so she heard from a Hufflepuff named Peter Wallace, who saw them walking out of the kitchen talking about the meal they had just eaten and musing on the nature of house-elves. They returned to their ship shortly after eating, and Rose was sure they were hard at work to fix their ship. She hadn't been able to see how badly it was wrecked, but if the looks of the crew were any hint, then it was in bad shape indeed.

She didn't sent Hellebore out to them, for fear of interrupting their work. Captain Anholts seemed like a kindly man – and she was eager to talk with him again – but she was sure that he wasn't the type who ought to be crossed. Instead, hoping someone would be there who would answer her questions, she went down to the Hospital Wing.

She wasn't the only one who'd had the idea to go there. The door to the Hospital Wing was crowded with students, all of whom were sent away, grumbling. Even James was there, and he scuffed the ground with his toe as he walked off. "Don't bother, Rose," he said as he passed her. "They're not letting anyone inside, not even the seventh-years. The Head Boy and Girl both got kicked out."

Rose grinned at the thought of Edith Grint being sent on her way. She wasn't about to let James send her off without trying at least once though, especially when she saw who was standing at the door. It wasn't Madame Longbottom, as she might have expected, but a woman with dark hair and olive-toned skin. Rose recognized her as Lula, one of the women who had helped Vittore, and she wormed her way through the cluster of students to see her. She wasn't tall – at least, nowhere near as tall as Ruby – so she couldn't force her way through, but she did know how to use her elbows, even if it made other people mad at her. Someone did mutter something about "bratty second-years", and someone else told her to wait at the back, but she made her way to the front and stood in front of Lula.

"Can I go in?" she asked, smiling and hoping the woman would recognize her.

Lula looked confused at first, but then she smiled. "You're the first one our captain talked to, aren't you?" When Rose nodded, Lula stepped aside and said, "Go right in. If anyone has a problem with you being there, get Rike to defend you."

"Thanks," Rose said, and she slipped past Lula as the crowd behind her grumbled and some people yelled in annoyance.

The Hospital Wing was far quieter than the hall outside, and Rose wondered whether Madame Longbottom had used some kind of muffling charm on it. There were a few students on beds, but only those who were badly hurt enough that they'd had to stay. Rose crept by them as quietly as she could until she reached the curtained-off section at the far end, where the sailors were gathered.

Rose hadn't expected to see so many injured there, and even though about half of them looked to be in good spirits and were joking around despite their injuries, there were enough still ones and enough unconscious for Rose to hesitate at the edge. She stood there until Rike caught sight of her and waved her over, and even then she moved as slowly as she dared to join her by Vittore's side. Madame Longbottom hadn't noticed her yet and was fussing over an old man with a bandage wrapped around his eyes.

"Laila died last night," Rike said in a low voice.

"I'm sorry," Rose murmured. She felt sick to her stomach and wanted to turn and run, wanted to find James and tell him that she'd been turned away too, but then Rike set a hand on her shoulder, keeping her there.

"She always said she never wanted to die on the water," Rike said. "At least she got that wish. She got to be in a bed, on dry land, and in a place she'd never been before." Despite her tears, she managed to smile, and then she wrapped her arm around Rose's shoulders and pulled her close in a side-hug. "I'm glad you're here."

"Why?"

"You're our good luck."

"Is that because Captain Anholts spoke to me first?" Rose asked.

"Partly." With her other hand, Rike adjusted the sheets around Vittore. The wounded woman was asleep, but she didn't seem quite as bad as she had the night before. "Vittore's doing well. The healer says a month, maybe less, and she'll be on her feet and ready to sail again." Rike's smile grew, and she ruffled Rose's hair. "The healer's skilled, yes, but I think it is partly luck. When Vittore wakes, we'll tell her a clever girl was the one who kept her alive."

Rose knew she was blushing, and she couldn't help smiling a little, even despite the circumstances.

"So why did you come down here today?" Rike asked. "You could have easily waited a week before we started to think you didn't want to spend any time with us."

"Of course I want to spend time with you," Rose said. She glanced to the side. Madame Longbottom had moved along to a sallow woman who tossed and turned on the bed. "I do have a question, though, about what happened to the ship."

"Ask," Rike said. When Rose hesitated, she went on to say, "And don't be afraid you'll hurt us by bringing it up. We all saw it, and we were all terrified, but I think we ought to talk about it." She nodded, as though convincing herself just as much as Rose. "It won't do us any good to lock away the memories, will it?"

"I guess not," Rose said.

"So what do you need to know?"

"Was it the same thing that attacked Essemeulia?" She wasn't at all sure how to describe it, but she did her best to remember what Albus and Avina had said. "Was it a cold thing, that would devour people's warmth?"

Rike nodded. "That's exactly what it was. We knew it came from some other world than ours, but we weren't sure which world it could have come from. Whatever it was, it was terrifying." She shuddered a little. "That's what got Vittore. Lula and I were trying to patch a sail that had been torn by lightning, and the thing started climbing up the mast. Vittore went after it, screaming all the way, but it didn't attack her until she was just feet from it. Then it turned and surrounded her. I knew I had to do something, so I told Lula to stay with the sail, and I scrambled down the mast as quickly as I could. I still don't remember how I got her out, but there's a lot I don't remember. I hit my head on one of the spars, you see," she said with a rueful smile.

"I've got a cousin named Victoire," Rose said. She wasn't sure why she brought it up, but it felt almost like the right thing to say. Vittore didn't look at all like Victoire, but the names were similar, and Rose was sure she would have that same sick feeling if it were her cousin lying in a hospital bed. "Her parents lived through that war I told the others about."

Rike nodded again. "Liesa told us about that war," she said. "Everyone was affected by it, weren't they?"

"That's how my parents make it sound." Of course, her parents had been right in the middle of it, since their best friend had been the Chosen One. If there had been anyone who escaped largely unscathed, they might not have heard about it.

"That's what things are like on our world," Rike said. "Essemeulia's the center of it, or it was until the queen returned, but it's spread everywhere else. Not even the oceans are safe, and for the longest time we thought they would be our refuge." Rike sighed and adjusted Vittore's blankets again. "We think the cold thing destroyed at least one other world, maybe more. I only hope it doesn't reach yours."

Then it really might be Vittore lying in a bed, still and possibly dying, with Teddy standing beside her. Would Teddy have that same anguished look that Rike was trying to hide? Something clenched inside Rose's chest, and she bit her lip, trying not to think of bright, cheerful Teddy looking pale and shaken.

"Is something wrong?" Rike asked.

Rose shook her head. "I'm fine," she murmured, but her voice caught on the last word, and Rike pulled her into a proper hug. She was hard and muscled, but comforting nonetheless, and as she murmured reassurances, Rose relaxed a little.

"We'll make sure it doesn't reach your world," Rike said. "No matter what."

"Thanks," Rose said, and she blinked away a few tears that had started to form in her eyes. She would have to get out and do something before she started getting melancholy.

She had the chance to only a few seconds later. While she had been looking down at Vittore, Madame Longbottom must have noticed that she had entered and come up behind her. "Miss Granger-Weasley," she said, and Rose jumped, turning. Professor Longbottom's wife was known for being a gentle, cheery woman, but right now she looked stern and sharp, despite her round face. "This part of the Hospital Wing is off-limits to students for the time being."

"It's all right," Rike said at once, wrapping a protective arm around Rose. "She's with us. She's our luck."

"She can visit you other places," Madame Longbottom said. "Come along, Miss Granger-Weasley. I'm sure you've got homework to do. I know my husband said he'd assign plenty of reading over the weekends."

Rose didn't point out that she had already done the reading for that year, since she didn't want to be seen as trying to show off. She was, a little, but she only wanted Longbottom to know about it, not his wife. "See you around," she called to Rike as Madame Longbottom hustled her out.

"The captain told us about your owl," Rike called. "Write in three days, and I'll send you a response."

"Okay!"

That was the last word Rose got out before she was pushed through the curtains. There wasn't anything for her to do in the other half, so she slipped out, giving Lula a smile as she left. Lula smiled back, and Rose wondered whether she knew that Vittore would live. She looked cheerful enough that Rose was sure she had to.

"What's going on in there?" someone asked as Rose worked her way through the crowd.

"How come you got to go in?"

"Will you tell us who they are?"

That last voice was Peter Wallace, and Rose gave him a quick smile. He was a skinny kid, but nice, and so she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the group. "Keep it secret?" she whispered, and he nodded. "They're from another world, like that girl from last year."

Peter's eyes lit up. "What else do you know?" he asked, his voice rough and excited.

"Something attacked them," Rose whispered, and Peter's blue eyes grew even wider. "It was a monster that destroyed another world, and they're afraid it'll come to this one."

Peter gasped. "Do you think it will?"

There would be adventure and excitement, but then there would also be Victoire lying on the bed and Teddy standing beside her, terrified. "No," she said. "It won't."


	7. The Cabin Boy

Rose had visited the Hospital Wing on Saturday, and she spent the whole rest of the day making little teasing remarks at James about how she was the one who got to spend time with the mysterious sailors. He got annoyed rather quickly, and she hurried up to the clock tower before he could hex her. She wondered what was making him so touchy lately and whether it might have anything to do with being fifteen and a boy. If Albus was as annoying at that age, she might have to do something about it, though she wasn't sure whether she would try to cheer him up or just hex him until he started acting normal. Maybe a combination of the two would work best.

The clock tower was abandoned, as usual, and she got right to work. Rike had told her to send out an owl in a few days, and so she wanted to get all her homework done quickly. She was already a bit ahead in some of her classes – mostly Herbology, but she'd also been studying a lot of Transfiguration – and to make time for the sailors she would have to get ahead in everything.

By Sunday afternoon, she was at least a week ahead of the rest of her class. That seemed like far enough, at least for now, so she headed off in search of James. He was busy snogging Lujayn, though, so she left them were they were and decided to spend some time with either Albus or Ruby, whoever she found first.

Both were in the library, which didn't surprise her all that much, but then she saw Scorpius sitting across from them. She wasn't jealous, she told herself as she hurried out, slipping through the stacks as quietly as she could. They could have as many friends as they wanted, and be friends with whoever they wanted. They'd probably find time to spend with her later. Albus was her cousin, after all, and Ruby liked her enough to kiss her forehead. They had to spend time with her.

Unless they liked Scorpius more than they liked her.

She passed by Peeves at nearly a run, and when the poltergeist tried to tip a suit of armor on her, she snarled and pulled out her wand. He cackled, blew a raspberry, and flew off, and she raced away in the opposite direction, only just remembering to tuck her wand away before she hit someone with it.

It wasn't long before she found herself in the Owlery, and Hellebore flew down from her perch to land on her shoulder. "Hey, girl," Rose murmured, rubbing her owl's head. "Want to carry a message for me?"

Hellebore hooted, and Rose sat with her back against the wall and pulled some parchment and a quill out of her bag. She knew it was early, but she needed something to do besides studying. She could study any time, and she already knew she could beat Scorpius this year. She would beat him every year, and she wanted to help the sailors.

_Dear Captain Anholts,_

_Hi. It's Rose. Rike told me I could write to you in a few days, but I thought I'd just go ahead and send my owl now. How are the repairs coming along? Is Vittore doing better? Rike told me she'd be okay. When can I see the ship?_

_Rose_

It was a short letter, but she didn't think the sailors would want a full sheet of parchment covered in tiny handwriting, like the ones her mother sent out to that one former Quidditch player. She tied the note to Hellebore's leg and carried her to the window. "It's just that ship there," she said, "the one that looks like it belongs to pirates."

As Hellebore flew down to the lake, Rose wondered why she hadn't been thinking about them as pirates as much. She supposed it was because they didn't seem as romantic to her anymore. With everything they had been through, they had suddenly become real people and not just a group of men and women who reminded her of stories her parents had liked to tell. They couldn't be real pirates; real pirates wouldn't bother with flattering a twelve-year-old girl, and they probably wouldn't be kind to anyone. They'd be more interested in recruiting new sailors and leaving their wounded behind, or in trying to sack Hogwarts, as though anyone could do that.

She left the Owlery and headed down the stairs two at a time. It might be a while before Hellebore returned, and until then, Rose could look over some Potions work.

* * *

><p>A reply came Monday morning. Rose was attacking her pancakes in between swigs of pumpkin juice when Hellebore arrived and held out her leg. A little scrap of slightly stained parchment was attached to it, and when Rose untied it, she saw rough handwriting, as though whoever had written the note was on a rocking ship. She gasped with excitement, and Hellebore, sensing she wasn't needed any longer, snagged a sausage from a nearby plate and flew off.<p>

_Rose,_

_Write to us whenever you please. It's always a pleasure to hear from a friend._

_I was already told Vittore would live, and that we had you to thank for it, but hearing good news is always welcome, no matter how often it's repeated. _

_Repairs are going well, and though I'm not sure we're ready to have guests aboard our ship, I'll send a cabin boy to meet you tomorrow. If nothing else, the two of you can talk. I'm sure you'll be good friends._

_Captain Anholts_

She read the note twice before folding it and tucking it in her bag. All the rest of the day, she thought about the note, and if she hadn't already been prepared for her classes, her distraction might well have ruined everything. As it was, she did well enough for no one to comment on it. She wondered who the cabin boy might be, and whether they really would be good friends. If he disliked Tavian as much as she did, then they would get along great.

As soon as she was done with her classes, she ran out to the lake to see whether the cabin boy was there, not even bothering to head for Gryffindor Tower to drop off her books. If he wasn't there, then she might as well head up just so she wouldn't have to wait around, but if he was, then she could bring the books with her wherever they went. She wasn't about to waste any more time when she had already been waiting all day to meet him. Her bag slammed against the back of her thighs as she raced out of the school.

The boat Captain Anholts had brought to the shore that first day was there again, and sitting on the prow was a tan-skinned boy with dark hair that looked like it was going everywhere at once. He got to his feet as soon as Rose drew near the boat, and she asked, "Are you the cabin boy?"

He nodded. "You're Rose?"

"Yeah. What's your name?" She set her bag by the side of the boat and perched on the edge next to him. This close, she could tell that he was a few years older than her, and there were some scars and bruises on his face.

"Horus," he said. "Like the hawk-headed god."

"I've never met anyone named after a god before," she said, and Horus just shrugged, as though he didn't care much about either of their names.

"I've met people named after flowers," he said after a moment. "Why'd the captain send me out to see you? What makes you so important?" His petulance made Rose want to hit his arm. All fifteen-year-old boys really were the same.

"I'm the first person here that the captain talked to," she said. "Rike told me that means I'm lucky."

"Lucky for the crew, maybe," Horus muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" If she'd known he was going to be this annoying, she would have just gone up to the clock tower and gotten some writing done, or wandered around looking for Albus and Ruby. Scorpius had spent the whole weekend with them, and it was about time she had a chance to be with her friends.

"It means whatever you take it to mean," Horus said with a glance out at the boat.

Rose groaned and got to her feet. "Look, if you're just going to be snappish at me, then I think I'll head right back inside. We don't have to spend any time together." She grabbed her bag and had taken one step up the shore when Horus grabbed her wrist.

"Wait," he said, and Rose stopped, but only because he sounded so desperate. "I'm sorry. It's just… I'm not sure I can explain properly." He looked up at her with brown-gold eyes that had the longest lashes Rose had ever seen. "Do you want to go out on the lake with me? I'll try not to be snappish, and if I am, you can use your magic against me."

Rose grinned and slung her bag into the boat. "Let's go," she said. "But I get to help with the rowing."

"Are you sure?" Horus asked even as he passed her an oar. "I'm a lot stronger than you are." He pushed the boat out into the water and clambered in, making it rock a little precariously. It steadied soon, though, and they started rowing.

"I can handle it," Rose said, and she was determined to, even though the oar was heavy and seemed to stick in the water. Horus was having no problems at all, and so she wouldn't complain.

"I was a first too," Horus said after a while. "Captain Anholts and his ship landed on the shore of my river, years ago, and I went up to speak to them. They were so foreign and so curious that I could hardly help it. They said I was their luck, and flattered me, and I went along with them."

"Has it been difficult?" Rose asked.

"At times." Horus glanced at her as though trying to tell her something without using words. "Captain Anholts is a charming man."

"Everyone on the crew is," Rose said. They treated her like she was more than just a normal twelve-year-old, as though she was someone who could do big, important things. "Except Tavian."

"Tavian's a cruel man," Horus said with a nod. "He gave me about half these bruises." The boat cut through the water easily, rocking slightly as it did so, but Rose didn't feel the slightest bit seasick. In fact, she liked it a lot. "Of course, I probably did a fair bit to deserve them."

"What do you mean?" Rose asked.

"Being cabin boy's a difficult job," Horus said. "You have to follow the orders of everyone on the ship, and you have to learn quickly. It can be pretty wonderful, though. I've seen more than I ever could have if I hadn't joined them."

He might have been about her age when he joined the crew, and for a moment she was tempted to ask whether they might take her along, too. But she had her rivalry with Scorpius, and even if it didn't seem like it now, she was sure Albus and James would miss her. Hugo and her parents certainly would, and she would miss all of them.

"Where are you headed next?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. That's the most exciting part," Horus said. "We never know where we'll end up. It's the life of a pirate."

So they were pirates. Rose had thought that would make her nervous, but it only excited her more. If she had a chance, she would definitely visit the ship again. "I'm glad you're here," she said. Horus smiled.


	8. Worlds Known and Unknown

Every chance she had, Rose went out to the lake, and more often than not, Horus was either waiting for her or was close enough to shore that she didn't have to wait long for him to arrive. He was always pleased to see her, and she felt the same way about him as they rowed the longboat around the lake. Even though it took a fair bit of time, she found she had plenty to spare if she did some work during meals and managed to keep at least a few days ahead in the reading. Perhaps she wouldn't beat Scorpius by as large a margin as she had the previous year, but she would still beat him, and that was the important part.

"So you're really pirates?" she asked eagerly, some three days after she had first met Horus. She hadn't had a chance to go on the ship, but she kept up a correspondence of notes with Captain Anholts and dropped by the Hospital Wing from time to time to talk to Rike. From the former she learned that repairs were going well, if slowly, and from the latter that Vittore ought to be fully recovered within a few weeks.

Horus nodded, and just then the boat dipped into a trough between two waves. Rose gasped at the way her stomach dropped and from the cold water, but they soon had the boat under control again. "You're getting better at this," he said when the waters were a bit calmer. "You should have some good muscles soon enough."

"Thanks," Rose said, but she wouldn't be dissuaded from her question that easily. "What sort of pirates are you?"

"Why are you so curious?" The boat had begun to drift a bit closer to the ship, and Horus steered them away from it. Something in his face made Rose think he didn't want them to reach the ship, but she couldn't think why that might be. It couldn't be just that the ship wasn't repaired enough yet, but the only other reason she could think of was that he didn't want the crew to see them. As she glanced over her shoulder, she supposed it could be that he didn't want to run into Tavian. Horus's face had a fresh bruise, and she suspected she knew who it had come from.

"I just am," she said. "Do I need a reason to ask questions?"

"Where I came from, you would have." Horus sighed and drove his oar into the water, speeding them along and bringing them slightly to the left, since Rose still wasn't strong enough to correct for him. "What sort of pirates do you think we might be?"

"I don't know," Rose said. "That's why I was asking." When Horus didn't respond, she went on, "The thing is, around here, there are a lot of different ways to see pirates. There's the dangerous kind, who just steal and kill, but I think those are mostly Muggles – non-magical folk," she added when Horus looked confused. "They've got guns and such, though there might be some wizard pirates. Then there are pirates out of stories, like Captain Hook." Again Horus looked confused, and Rose realized they probably didn't have Peter Pan in Essemeulia, or whatever part of that world these pirates had come from. "I'll lend you a book sometime," she said.

"So what kind of pirates do you think we are?" Horus asked. "Are we the dangerous kind or the storybook kind?"

"I'm not sure," Rose said. "I mean, when you first arrived, you all looked like you'd just come out of something really dangerous, so I thought you might be that kind. But I don't think dangerous pirates would be as nice to kids as Captain Anholts and Rike have been to me."

"They're certainly very kind," Horus said. They were silent for a moment, and then he asked, "So… do you think we're the storybook pirates, like that Captain Hook?" Rose didn't answer, but her cheeks grew hot, and Horus must have seen her blushing, for he threw back his head and laughed. "I don't care how clever they say you are. You're still a child, aren't you?"

"I'm twelve years old," she said. "I'm allowed to be a little childish."

"You might want to grow up quickly, Rose, if you're going to spend more time with us."

"Oh, I will," she said eagerly as they rowed back to shore.

* * *

><p>The next time she went out, she brought her old copy of <em>Peter Pan <em>with her and found that Horus was striding up to the castle to meet her. "What are you doing?" she asked, joining him on the way to the front doors. She was confused but had to admit she was glad he had decided not to row around the lake with her; the sky was gray and looked like it might rain.

"I thought I'd see a bit of your world," he said. "That is, if it's all right." It was a bit harder to tell with his darker skin, but she thought he was blushing a little, and the way he didn't quite meet her gaze made her giggle a little.

"Of course it's all right," she said, slipping her arm through his. "Come on. I'll show you everything."

"What's that you've got under your arm?" he asked as they passed through the front doors and into the warmth of the Entrance Hall.

"It's that book I promised I'd lend you," she said, passing it to him. "_Peter Pan_. You can read all about Captain Hook and those storybook pirates I thought you were. Though Captain Anholt's much nicer than Captain Hook."

Horus took the book almost reverently and flipped through some of the pages, touching them as though they were the most precious things in the world. It was cute, but a little infuriating, and Rose nudged his side with her elbow, making him jump. He almost dropped the book, and his cheeks grew even redder as he fumbled to hold onto it, making her laugh.

"It's not a priceless relic," she said. "It's hardly even a family heirloom. It's just a copy my mom picked up from a second-hand store so she could read it to me when I was little." She'd caught the flu when she was eight, and the only thing that could cheer her up was having someone read _Peter Pan _to her. Her mother would read it beautifully, enunciating each word perfectly, while her father would do the character voices and leap up to act out some of the fighting scenes. She'd loved both, although her favorite times had come when she had gotten better, and she and her father would chase each other around the house, pretending to be Pan and Hook, fighting on a rolling ship.

"It's just…" Horus bit his lip and glanced at her. "I don't know how to read. My family never needed to teach me, so…"

"I'll teach you," Rose said quickly, and she grabbed his arm. "Come on. I know the best place in the whole school for learning. I'll give you a tour along the way."

What she gave him was the quick version of the tour of Hogwarts. They went through the Great Hall, and she brought him down to the Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms, or at least to the entrances. She showed him her favorite classrooms and found a window where they could see the Quidditch Pitch, and another window that looked out on the greenhouses. She stopped by the stairs leading to Zahradnik's office and then pulled Horus into a run so they could see both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Towers.

"How does anyone manage to find anything in this place?" Horus asked, breathless, as Rose led him from Gryffindor Tower to the clock tower. "It's so large I'm amazed people don't get lost in it."

"Oh, they do," she said. "All the time, actually. It's mostly just first years, though. By the time you've lived here a whole year, you know where everything is." At least, people knew where their classes were, along with the Great Hall and their common room. There tended to be a bit of an adjustment at the start of the next year, especially for classes like Defense Against the Dark Arts, which would move around from time to time either to make room for the different things that needed to be taught or because the professor just liked to run through the halls. Rose was sure there was at least one who enjoyed that.

"I wish I could stay here that long," Horus said. "This place is wonderful." He paused by one of the moving paintings and watched as a goblin ran around, trying to catch a horse that was always just out of reach. "It's magical, even."

"It's supposed to be," Rose said with a laugh. "That's the whole point of Hogwarts." Horus sighed wistfully as she pulled him away from the painting, and she asked, "But isn't your ship magical, too? I mean, you rose up out of the lake. That hasn't happened since…" She paused and tried to count back. "It was about twenty-five years ago, or maybe more. It was at the Triwizard Tournament."

"The what?"

So Rose launched into the story of the Triwizard Tournament, and how her Uncle Harry had only been fourteen when he had been made a champion. She told every detail she could remember from the family stories, but especially the part where the ship from Durmstrang rose up out of the lake.

They had reached the clock tower by the time she finished with Uncle Harry giving up his winnings to Fred and Uncle George, and Horus's eyes looked as though they were shining. "And he was only fourteen?" he asked. "He must have been one of the most skilled wizards of his time. I'm not at all surprised you're related to him."

"I'm not really related to him," Rose said. "He married my aunt. And he wasn't the best. He was just lucky." That was what everyone said, even him, so she had to believe it. "Well, here we are. Welcome to the clock tower."

Horus walked through it slowly, looking around as though he could scarcely believe where he was. Maybe he'd never seen a clock before, Rose thought, or at least never seen the insides of one. She'd been amazed, too, when she first found it, and watching him was like watching Hugo learn something. In a few years, when Hugo came to Hogwarts, she'd have to show him everything. She trailed after Horus as he walked to the window where she had first seen the ship and grinned when he gasped. "It looks so small from up here!"

"I hope you're not scared of heights," she said, and Horus shook his head.

"They send me up to the crow's nest all the time. If I were scared, I wouldn't last all that long." He turned suddenly and grabbed her hand. "When everything's repaired, I'll teach you how to climb the mast. It's incredible, especially when the ship's rocking. It looks like you'll fall into the sea if you let go."

Rose squeaked with excitement and nearly started jumping up and down. "How soon will that be?" she asked. Looking down and seeing nothing but ocean beneath her sounded like the best adventure she could have.

"As soon as I can arrange it," Horus said. He glanced down shyly and bit his lip. "Until then, could you read that book to me?"

"Sure," Rose said, and she sat down beside him on the floor and opened the book. "_Peter Pan_, by J. M. Barrie," she began, exactly as her mother always had. "Chapter One: Peter Breaks Through.

"All children, except one, grow up. They soon know that they will grow up, and the way Wendy knew was this…"


	9. Childhood's End

Horus was clever, it turned out, and nearly as clever as Rose. They got through all of _Peter Pan _in a few days, and then she began to teach him how to read and write. His hand was a bit shaky, but she assured him it was normal and said that her own handwriting, when she had first learned, had been much worse. The fact that she had been just turning three didn't come up. With her constant reassurances, Horus kept at work, and before long he could write really simple, phonetic words. Rose encouraged him to keep working, and by the end of a month, he was learning the basics of English spelling.

"This makes no sense at all," he said one day, having written out _phonetic _and _colonel _until the parchment was covered with his unsteady handwriting.

"That's the basics!" Rose said cheerfully. "My mom says English is mercurial." She had always liked the thought that her language could flow and change so easily. It made it all the more fun to speak and use. "But you're doing really well. I'm just giving you the hard ones now so you can get used to them. There are a few long ones that are actually really easy."

"Like _mercurial_?"

"And _mellifluous_," she said.

"Mellifluous," Horus murmured. He somehow managed to find an open space on the paper and, repeating the word syllable by syllable, spelled it out. The only correction Rose had to make was that there were two _l_'s at the start, and Horus beamed at her praise.

Even though it was October and edging into November, they didn't spend all their days in the clock tower. Sometimes they went out on the lake, and Rose would bundle herself up to keep from getting soaked through from the spray of the water. She was outgrowing her Weasley sweater from the past Christmas, but she knew Grandma Molly would send her a new one this year, so she was determined to keep the old one until then. It was still warm, even if it did show a full inch of skin past her wrists. That, she covered up with a long-sleeved shirt that had been too large for her in summer.

"You're getting better," Horus said one day, as they brought the longboat to shore through a steady drizzle that had Rose's braids lying heavy on the back of her sweater.

"Really?" she asked, and her cheer was enough to make her ignore how her pants were soaked with rain and lake water. She felt warm all over, even down to her toes, which were starting to lose feeling. She'd need to bring out thicker socks next time, she reminded herself.

"I wouldn't say it if it weren't true," Horus replied. "You've gotten strong enough to handle the oar, and you can control the boat much better than when we started. With a few years of practice, you'll be almost as good as me."

Rose nudged him in the side for that, hard, and he laughed, throwing back his head and letting raindrops fly from his hair. "Why did you hate me when you first met me?" she asked as they brought the boat up to shore. Horus, as usual, was the one to jump out and pull it up so Rose wouldn't have to wade through the water, even though she insisted she would be fine.

"I didn't hate you," he said, offering her a hand which she ignored.

"You certainly acted like it," she replied. The land felt slightly unsteady under her feet, and she wondered if this meant she was getting her sea legs, even though all she did was sit in a longboat and work her arms.

"Well, I'm sorry," Horus said. "I don't hate you at all. It's the opposite, in fact."

"You're not answering my question," Rose said, placing her hands on her hips. Her family had learned that when she did this it meant she wouldn't back down, but apparently Horus wasn't familiar enough with her, for he only smiled and kissed her forehead before springing back into the boat. Rose pushed it out into the water, and Horus started on his way back. "I expect an answer!" Rose called after him, and she received only a wave in response.

Two days later, she did get an answer, though not the one she had expected. Hellebore flew in at breakfast with a note tied to her leg, and after giving Rose an angry look – no doubt for being sent out in the cold – she accepted a piece of hot sausage and allowed Rose to untie the paper.

"Honestly, it's not that bad," Rose said as she fiddled with the knots. The pirates were remarkably good at tying them, or at least Captain Anholts was, and it always took her several seconds to pick them apart. "The temperature can't be below freezing yet, and you only had to fly out to the lake. It's not like I send you to Mom and Dad or to the Burrow every few days." She only sent letters home every week or so, and she supposed she ought to get another one started.

Hellebore only gave a disdainful hoot before flying off to the Owlery. Rose shook her head and opened the letter, wondering what the news was today.

_Rose,_

_I'm not sure if you've heard yet, but Vittore's completely recovered, or at least enough to come back to the ship. Repairs are going well, though I doubt we'll leave anytime soon. The weather's poor and only likely to get worse, and we still need to stock up on supplies. I think you can expect us to stay for another few months._

_The next time Horus comes to meet you, expect a surprise._

_Captain Anholts_

Rose didn't bother trying to conceal her excitement but grinned all through breakfast and her first two classes. Her professors were used to her being enthusiastic, even if not over pop quizzes (though she did get top marks on both), so they didn't comment, and her classmates assumed she was just being smug about being the top of both classes. She was, so there was something of that to her cheer, but it was so much more than that.

Vittore would be all right. Captain Anholts and his crew would stay through the winter. And Horus would have a surprise for her. Any one of those would have been enough to make her happy, but all three made the world suddenly seem absolutely perfect. Her mother had a book by Voltaire that made fun of the idea that this world was the best possible world, but at the moment, it certainly seemed that way to Rose.

The next time she saw Horus wasn't for another few days, and by then, she was nearly bubbling over with excitement. She had tossed and turned in her sleep, annoying the other second year Gryffindor girls, and she had been so eager that she could barely focus on her meals. The one thing that could focus her was doing well in her classes, and that was only because she had her rivalry to consider. Still, she wasn't as far ahead in her classwork as she had planned to be, but she would have some spare time that night, and the Christmas holiday was a perfect time to do some work, assuming she could steal a few minutes from her relatives.

Horus looked excited as well, and as soon as the longboat had been drawn up onto the shore, he ushered her in. Rose took her usual place without complaint, though she did ask, "Weren't we going to work on your writing today?"

"Captain Anholts wants you to see the ship," Horus said, and with that, all thought of writing was gone. He could practice anywhere, after all, but the captain rarely left the ship anymore, and Rose hadn't had a chance to see him in months. She hadn't seen Vittore, either, and had only managed a few brief conversations with Rike.

"Do I get to actually go on the ship?" she asked, so eager that her oar at times only skimmed the surface of the lake instead of plunging into the water.

"I expect so," Horus said. "I think even Tavian's supposed to be on his best behavior, because we've got a guest." He grinned wickedly. "And if he isn't, I bet Captain Anholts will keel-haul him." When he saw Rose's shocked expression, the grin vanished. "I'm only kidding. The captain wouldn't do that unless Tavian betrayed him somehow. It's just a joke among the crew who don't like Tavian much."

Rose wasn't entirely reassured, but by then they had reached the ship, and Horus directed her to bring them to two ropes that dangled from the stern. He tied one to each end of the longboat, and the boat was hauled up. It rocked from side to side, and Rose grabbed Horus's arm at one point, when she thought she might fall out and land in the lake. It wasn't a long fall, but the water was cold as ice, and she doubted the pirates would have any Pepper-Up Potion on board.

"Don't worry," Horus said with a smile. "We're not about to let you fall. You're our luck."

She still wasn't reassured until she was standing on the deck, surrounded by men and women who looked as though not even the coming winter could dampen their cheer. They welcomed her aboard with handshakes and grins, and names came out of everywhere, so many and so unfamiliar that she had trouble keeping track of them. She was hardly overwhelmed, though, and when Captain Anholts appeared, she ran up to him with a smile.

"Did you like the surprise?" he asked with a grin, shaking her hand.

"It's the best I could have gotten," she said. "Will I get to actually look around the ship?"

"And you can ask all the questions you want," he said. "We'll answer as best we can. You deserve the best treatment, after all."

He led her all across the ship, from the belowdecks that smelled of water and people and had pumps to get any excess water out, all the way to the mast, which he didn't climb on account of his age and wouldn't let her climb until she had someone experienced go with her. She saw the galley, which had some fish and food from the Hogwarts kitchen, and the captain's quarters, which were cramped but very nice, with all sorts of maps from lands she had never seen, and she saw the cannons, and the rigging and sails, which a few of the smaller crewmen were helping to repair. She even got to visit Vittore, who was resting in a cabin that would apparently be returned to Liesa, the first mate, as soon as Vittore was fully recovered.

"It's thanks to you, luck girl," she said from her place, propped up on some pillows. "If it weren't for you, I'd have been buried in this lake, farther from home than I've ever been."

"But other people died," Rose said, feeling a stab of guilt. Even though Vittore looked healthy and even happy, she couldn't forget Laila and the others whose names Rike had told her. "I only saved you."

"You don't know that," Vittore said gently. "Ardashir, our pilot, broke his arm, and that recovered more quickly than normal. He didn't even visit your healer. I doubt he would have done so well if it weren't for you." She smiled and took Rose's hand. "Don't feel guilty, clever girl. You've brought us only good. The ills were something you couldn't control."

"Okay," Rose said, though she wasn't sure she entirely believed it. She'd try, though, so Vittore would stop giving her that sad little look.

"And be sure to visit again," Vittore said, sitting up a little more.

"I will," Rose said.


	10. A Light on the Lake

Once Rose had been allowed on the ship, it was like a door had opened into a whole new world. Suddenly her life was full of nautical terms, and fresh air in her lungs, and the sort of strength that came from hard physical work rather than studying. She was still the best second year Gryffindor, of course – Hermione Granger's daughter could hardly be anything else – and she still strove to be the best, but her rivalry with Scorpius didn't seem nearly as interesting any more. It was a game for children to play at, and she had much more important things to do and much more interesting people to learn from.

Not since she was a child had Rose had so many people willing to teach her all sorts of things. Horus still taught her how to manage a longboat, but he was only one of the people she spent her time with now. Ardashir, the pilot, showed her how the helm worked, and though she wasn't allowed to actually steer the ship, she quickly picked up on how it was meant to be done. Lula taught her all about the rigging and how the sails were controlled. Rike taught her about cannons, and Rose was even allowed to fire one, though it only had black powder in it.

"We wouldn't want to cause any damage," Rike said as Rose prepared the cannon to fire. "The worst this will do is make a loud noise and scare the fish."

Liesa taught her the tricks of climbing the mast to reach the crow's nest, although she let Horus lead her up so she could see how the ship rocked and dipped while she clung to the wood and laughed from excitement and terror. It was more wonderful than he had told her it would be, and when she made it back down to the deck, her legs were shaking so hard she could hardly stand. Even Tavian taught her a few things, like how to move across the deck during a storm, though he was rather bitter about it, and Rose suspected that he didn't like anyone at all. Why they let him stay was a mystery she was in no hurry to solve.

But her favorite times were spent with Captain Anholts. He treated her like a daughter, and if she hadn't been so fond of her own father, she might have looked up to him as a second one. As it was, she treated him with the respect and fondness she would give to any of her uncles. He didn't teach her so much as tell her stories about the places he had been, and he showed her maps with little marks displaying the cities where they had made port.

"I'll tell you about Essemeulia first," he said when she first stood beside his desk. "Tell me, though, did you really know Queen Avina?"

Rose nodded. "My cousin fell in love with her." She didn't think it was important that Scorpius was the one who had been closest to Avina. After all, he wasn't here right now. He was probably hanging out in the library with Albus and Ruby.

"Incredible," Captain Anholts whispered. Then he launched into a description of Essemeulia, telling her poetic tales of the sea lapping against the shore and the way the sides of the buildings curved and seemed to be part of the land itself. He told her about its occasional wars with its neighboring countries, and about the crewmembers he had picked up from there. "Liesa's from Essemeulia," he said, "and so was Laila."

"So most of your crew isn't from Essemeulia?" Rose asked. She said the country's name as often as she could, reveling in the fact that she could say it correctly, especially since Scorpius had stumbled over it so often the year before. "What about you? Where are you from?"

"I'm from a land called Gillik," Captain Anholts said. He drew out another map and showed her the city where he had been born. "The people there are said to be the most intelligent on the Nameless Island. I was meant to live as an academic, but the sea called to me. Vittore's from here, in the west." He pointed to a swath of the map that was largely yellow-green. "It's called the Kinland, and the people there are farmers. Rike is from the east, the Kieland." The east of the map looked to be a large group of mountains. "The people there can neither read nor write, and no one knows what their lives are like. Even Rike won't tell us, and she's been on the crew for years."

"What about the south?" Rose asked, pointing to a land that looked covered in marsh.

"That's called Fourth Land," Captain Anholts said. "Not very creative, but not many people like those who live there. That's where Tavian's from. Even though he's far away from all the prejudice against the Fourth Landers, he's still rather bitter about it."

"Is that why he's so angry at everyone?" Rose asked.

Captain Anholts smiled a little. "That would explain it, wouldn't it? We've been trying to get him to be more relaxed, but I'm afraid that as long as Rike, Vittore, and I are around, he'll still feel like he has to be the one Fourth Lander and the least appreciated on the crew. It doesn't help that he was the cabin boy for the longest time."

Talk of cabin boys made Rose think of Horus, and she asked, "Where did you get Horus from?"

"To tell the truth, I'm not sure," Captain Anholts said as he rolled up the map of the Nameless Island. "We've visited so many lands that I hardly remember what all of them are called, and sometimes we don't spend very long there. When we found Horus, we only spent a day or two near his home before leaving with him. I couldn't tell you the name of the place, but I do remember that it was on a river. I also remember that there wasn't much around. The river ran right through a desert, and the only things outside of his little civilization were savages and wild beasts. I wouldn't say we rescued him, but I was quite glad to come with us."

"Where will you go next?" Rose asked.

"I'm not sure. Wherever fate takes us, probably." Captain Anholts had been toying with the rolled-up map, but now he tucked it into a drawer in his desk. "We'll probably try to go back to Essemeulia to help with the fight."

Even though she knew their leaving wouldn't be for a while yet, Rose still felt a pang at the thought of looking at the lake and not seeing their ship. "Will you carry a message to Avina for me?" she asked.

"I'd do anything for you, clever girl," Captain Anholts said with a smile. "Bring us the letter and we'll see she gets it."

After that, Rose had no excuse not to find Albus. It was easy enough to track him down; he was in the library with Scorpius and Ruby, as she expected. It was just as easy to send him a message by enchanting a piece of paper to fly to him and unfold on top of the book he was reading, displaying a message.

_I have a way to get a message to Avina. Write her a letter and get it to me as soon as you can._

_Rose_

Two days later, Rose felt a tap on her shoulder as she went to Charms. When she turned, she saw Albus standing behind her, holding out an envelope. _Avina_ was written on the front in his careful, slanting handwriting, and he had a nervous smile as she took it.

"Thanks," he said. "I've been trying to find a way to get a message to her for months."

The envelope was thick, and Rose tucked it into her bag, wedging it between _Standard Book of Spells, Grade Two _and an essay for Potions. "No problem," she said. "I'm glad to help."

"Really," Albus said, and he wrapped his arms around her in a sudden hug. She hugged him back out of reflex, and he held onto her even tighter than normal. "I've been really worried about Avina, and I haven't seen you all year, so I'm really glad I get a chance to handle both of these at once."

"It's not like you needed to see me," Rose said. She tried to loosen her grip, but Albus kept holding onto her, so she had no choice but to continue the hug. "You've got Scorpius and Ruby to hang out with all the time."

"Yeah, but they're not you," he said. "I've missed you."

Rose tapped the top of his head with her chin, rising up onto her toes to do so, and Albus took a step back. "You'll see me at Christmas, dummy," she said with a smile, and he smiled back, more easily than she had. "Everyone's going to the Burrow again. You won't be able to avoid seeing me, and we'll get to spend as much time together as we want." And she wouldn't have to worry about sharing him with anyone else, even the girl who had been her best friend the year before.

"I know," Albus said, "but will you hang out with us after Christmas?"

"With all of you?" Rose forced a laugh. "I don't think Scorpius will want me around much unless there's something I can help him with." Lowering her voice conspiratorially, she added, "And I'm not going to help him with his schoolwork."

"I won't mess up your fight," Albus said with a smile. "But Ruby misses you too. Maybe we could do something that's just the three of us. Like a snowball fight in the Quidditch pitch or hide-and-seek at night."

"Or sneaking into the Forbidden Forest?" Rose asked, her eyes lighting up.

Albus shuddered but grinned. "Maybe when we're a bit older. I don't think the Forbidden Forest is the best place for kids."

Rose let go of her cousin and took a step back. "I'll see if I can find time," she said. "I've been pretty busy this year, and I'm only just barely staying ahead in my classes."

"What have you been doing?" Albus asked, following Rose as she turned and walked down the hall. "Is it something about the ship? I've heard that you've been spending a lot of time with the pirates."

"Where did you hear that?" Rose asked. The halls were nearly empty, and she knew she would likely be late to Charms, but she didn't want to just brush off her cousin. She was too fond of him for that. She knew she wasn't supposed to have a favorite family member, but if she had to pick, it would be him.

"Different people are talking about it," Albus said. "It's just a lot of rumors, mostly, but making friends with pirates seems like something you'd do."

"Yeah," Rose said, "because it is. They're interesting, and they think I'm lucky and clever…" _And they pay attention to me, _she thought but didn't say. "And I'm learning a lot about different places on the world where Essemeulia is."

"Well, have fun," Albus said. He grinned and slapped her shoulder gently, in the way that James might have done, though Albus's touch was much lighter. James liked to have people feel his presence. "Don't run off with them, okay? I think even Scorpius would miss you."

They both laughed, and Rose punched Albus in the shoulder. It wouldn't be enough to leave a bruise – she wasn't that mean – but he winched and rubbed his arm before turning and running down the hall. She wasn't sure what class he had next, but she hoped she hadn't made him late enough to lose house points. He could be sensitive.


	11. The Burrow

The Christmas holidays came all too quickly for Rose, who felt as though she hadn't been given nearly enough time before heading back home. She had learned a great deal from the pirates – and from her classes, but she could have done that any year – but she didn't feel like she had learned enough. There was still so much for her to know, and she was sure she wouldn't have the chance to when she returned in January. The repairs were going very well, and she suspected the pirates would choose to leave before the lake completely froze over.

She wouldn't show her dismay, though, at least not in front of them. Instead, she made herself smile as she shook their hands in farewell. No one said "we'll see you when you get back", but no one said "good-bye", either, and that was enough cause for a little hope. Everyone looked a little sad to see her go, and a few of them echoed her wish of "Merry Christmas", though they looked a bit confused until she explained it was a holiday.

When she reached Captain Anholts, instead of shaking his hand she handed him a folded up piece of paper. "It's a map," she explained as he unfolded it. "It's of the British Isles. We're here, up north. Hogwarts is unplottable, so I couldn't mark it, but I marked where I was born. That's down here, in England. This one's Wales, and the island up there is Ireland. It's split in two because they had a rebellion, and…" And if she went on to talk about it, she wouldn't be able to catch the train. "If I'd thought about it weeks ago, I would have told you everything."

"It's a kind gift," the captain said, folding it again and setting it in his pocket. "Maybe there will be time for stories later."

That, more than anything else, made Rose sure she would see him again.

She rowed back to shore with Horus, and when he helped her out of the longboat, he kissed her hand. His cheeks turned a deep red afterward, and he hurried away, but Rose waved to him all the way back to the ship. She would have blown him a kiss to tease him, but he was too far away for her to see his reaction.

The next day, the Hogwarts Express set out for King's Cross, traveling through a flurry of snow that flew past the window in gusts and spirals created by the wind of the train's passing. Rose didn't have much chance to look out the window, though; she had found a compartment for herself, Albus, and Ruby, and the three of them were busy getting caught up. Ruby had grown some more, and apparently she looked so much like a third year that a Slytherin had asked if she wanted to go out to the Three Broomsticks sometime. Albus hadn't grown much, but he looked much more at ease than he had that first Christmas, and he talked eagerly about how good he was getting at Transfiguration.

They met up with James at the station, and as soon as he had finished saying good-bye to Lujayn, they found their parents. Ruby headed off to spend the holidays in Northern Ireland, and the Granger-Weasley-Potter set exchanged hugs before heading off to the car. On the way, Rose noticed Scorpius Malfoy with his parents. He had grown a little, and he smiled more easily than she had expected.

Maybe she should have found an excuse to hang around him.

All three kids broke into a run when they saw Grandma Molly and Grandpa Arthur standing by an antique Ford Anglia that was apparently almost exactly like the one her father had lost in the Forbidden Forest, and before anyone could pile in, there were more hugs, and Grandma Molly just had to comment on how they had all grown, and Grandpa Arthur just had to ruffle everyone's hair and make sure they weren't getting into too much trouble.

"Do you ever ask Roxanne if she's getting into too much trouble?" James asked as they climbed in. There was more than enough room for everyone to fit comfortably, which was likely for the best. Hugo was old enough to not whine when Rose started a poking war with him, and James fought back viciously. She suspected Albus might even put up a decent fight, and the next time they were squeezed together at a dinner table, she vowed to try.

"Roxanne is George's daughter," Grandpa Arthur said. "We're all just lucky she takes after her mother and has gone into Quidditch."

"Is Aunt Angelina coming for Christmas dinner?" Albus asked eagerly.

"She promised she'd try," Grandma Molly said. "I expect she'd want to meet the latest Quidditch player in the family."

"I'm only a reserve," Albus muttered, blushing, but he smiled all the same.

"Don't think I'll go easy on you just because we're brothers," James said. "Once you're on the field, you'll get the same treatment I'll give that Malfoy boy."

Both of them were on the Quidditch team? Rose leaned closer to Albus and whispered, "I've missed more than I thought, huh?"

"Yeah," Albus said. "I'll tell you tonight."

The Burrow was filled with family when they arrived. Uncle Percy had brought his family over in his Ministry car, having not wanted to be a bother, and Uncle George had just Apparated over with Roxanne after making a run by Diagon Alley. Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie were chatting in a corner, and Teddy and Victoire were busy kissing. Molly and Lucy were playing a card game, and Dominique and Louis were sorting decorations for the multiple Christmas trees. All of the activity stopped when the group arrived, and there was a mad rush for the front hall to meet them.

There were more hugs, and laughter, and Uncle Charlie lifted Rose off the floor and spun her around, as he had ever since she was old enough to walk. It was exactly how Christmas was meant to be, and it only got better when they all gathered in the dining room for the first of many dinners. There were dozens of dishes, and everyone had second helpings – James had thirds and still found room for dessert – and afterwards there was hot chocolate and stories. Everyone went to bed exhausted, and Rose didn't wake until mid-morning, when half the people there were already up and eating pancakes for breakfast.

There were so many people around her and so many things to do that Rose barely had time to miss the pirates. She was too busy slipping out with one relative or another to go Christmas present shopping, or having snowball fights in the massive yard, or tracking down gnomes that were trying to hibernate and transplanting them. Even her quiet moments were busy, keeping up a correspondence with Ruby or sending Scorpius teasing letters about how she was doing much better in her classes than he was, even though she had been busy hanging around with pirates. She found time to tease James, too, and though he pretended not to care, she could tell he was jealous. He couldn't hide his emotions that easily.

She studied, too, whenever she found the chance. Her father was proud of her for keeping up her rivalry with Scorpius, but Uncle Harry warned her not to let it get out of hand. "It's just schoolwork," she said whenever he gave her that warning. "It's not like we're going out to fight duels or anything." Though that might be a fitting end to their seventh year: a duel to see who was the better wizard. No killing or maiming, of course, but there would have to be points for cleverness.

There were so many ornaments and so many people who wanted to help decorate – Grandma Molly sat out to allow the grandchildren a chance, but Grandpa Arthur insisted on putting up stars on the top of each tree – that there were several Christmas trees scattered around the house. Some people stuck to one tree, but others, Rose included, raced around and tried to put at least one ornament up on each one. The largest tree, of course, was red and gold, for the Gryffindors in the family, but there was a slightly smaller tree covered in silver, for Albus and Slytherin. There was a tree that was silver and gold, and another that looked as though it had just been standing outside in the snow before someone transported it there. It even smelled like the outside, fresh and wild.

The smallest tree was far from the least important, and it had names hung all over it. Rose always felt a bit melancholy when she looked at the tree, since she had never had a chance to meet anyone who belonged to those names. She'd only ever gotten to hear about Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks, and though she had been told several times that Fred Weasley and Sirius Black would have been glad to know her, there was something distant about hearing the names. They would only ever be stories to her.

But there wasn't much time for melancholy. Aunt Angelina showed up on Christmas Eve, her arms full of wrapped presents, and she and George sat together at the table, holding hands and kissing, clearly enjoying the fact that they were annoying Roxanne. There were carols that night, and plenty of hot chocolate, and Rose's mother and Uncle Harry tried to explain to Grandpa Arthur how Muggles celebrated Christmas. It turned out to be very similar, but with less magic, and at one point Grandpa Arthur broke out, "Well, without magic, what's the point?"

"It's a different kind of magic," Rose's mother said, but apparently that wasn't much of an explanation.

Christmas morning was the only time Rose woke up early, from a combination of her own excitement and from the fact that everyone else was awake and thundering around the upper floor. There wasn't much point in trying to stay asleep when a dozen people were rushing about, eager for the festivities to start, so she got out of bed, wrapped a robe around her nightclothes, and ran downstairs with everyone else.

There was plenty of food, and hot cider – though some of the adults got mulled wine – and gifts were passed out. Rose got a Weasley sweater that was slightly too large, but Grandma Molly said she would grow into it soon enough, and she pulled it on. It was a shade of red so bright it clashed with her hair, and a golden _R _embroidered on the front. By noon, everyone else was wearing their sweaters too, and the whole clan was a mass of jewel tones and pajama bottoms.

After that, the rest of the holiday was something of an anticlimax. The ornaments were put away, and the trees looked bare and empty for the few hours afterward they remained in the house. One by one, people trickled away, Aunt Angelina and her family off to their home, then Uncle Percy and his. Uncle Bill and his family headed away two days before the new year, on the same day that Uncle Charlie went back to Romania. By New Year's Eve, the house felt quiet and empty, even though there were still several people inside.

The festivities for New Year's Eve were rather subdued, but James still set off some firecrackers from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and everyone stayed up to midnight, even if Hugo had to be nudged awake at eleven-thirty so he wouldn't miss it. After they had welcomed the new year, everyone went straight to bed so they could catch the train the next day.

The ride to the train station was quiet, since everyone was still half-asleep, and Rose found herself dreading the return, since she was sure the pirates would be long gone.


	12. Liesa

The ship was still there when Rose got back to Hogwarts, and though she was excited to look out across the night-covered lake and see the dark mass sitting there like a piece of shadow, she couldn't help feeling a bit guilty about her excitement. They had probably wanted to leave before the ice really set in, and even in the darkness she could see that the lake was frozen over. She didn't know whether that would affect their plans to travel, and she couldn't tell whether she hoped it meant they would stay until spring.

There was still so much for her to learn.

Classes started the day after they arrived, so Rose didn't have a chance to run out to the lake until afternoon, but as soon as she could, she abandoned her schoolbooks in her dormitory and bundled up in her warmest clothes. Uncle Charlie had given her a pair of gloves that he swore would protect her from both cold and dragonfire, and he'd also given her books and a scarf. As soon as she stepped out into the snow, she was glad of the gifts, for the exposed bits of her skin prickled at once with the cold, and she hid a grin behind her scarf. She'd always loved the winter.

It was hard to run in the snow, but she made her way to the edge of the lake and tested it by tapping the ice with her foot. It sounded solid, and she remembered that Avina had been able to walk out over it easily, without any trace of fear. Of course, something in Avina's magic might have strengthened the ice, but at the moment, that was beside the point. The point was that the ice was solid, and even if it wasn't, Rose doubted she would be unable to make it back to the castle, even cold and soaking wet.

The tricky part, it turned out, wasn't not falling through. It was not falling at all. Even with a layer of snow from the night before, the ice was still slippery, and Rose's boots were heavy enough to sink right through the snow to the ice beneath. Every step was a fight between balance and gravity, and she had to adopt a waddling sort of movement to keep from slipping. Even with that, she fell on her butt a few times, and she was sure there would be bruises there or on the palms of her hands the next morning. Already her hands stung from catching herself, despite the thick gloves. At least her fingers were still warm.

When she was nearly at the ship, someone was lowered down on a rope and a plank to meet her. As she got a bit closer, Rose saw that the someone was Liesa, who smiled as she got closer. "What are you doing out here?" Liesa asked. "We thought you were gone for good?"

"The holiday only lasts a few weeks," Rose said. "I thought you would have left by now."

Liesa shook her head. "We haven't managed to finish the repairs, and there have been… other problems." Her smile slipped a little, but then she grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her along to the plank, both of them sliding a bit.

"What other problems?" Rose asked as she stepped onto the plank.

Liesa didn't answer her at first, instead just saying, "Hold tight to the rope. I don't want you to fall." Once Rose had a steady grip on the rope, Liesa tugged it twice, and the plank rose. It rocked, and once Rose thought she would fall off, but Liesa wrapped an arm around her waist and held her tightly. "I'm not sure who you ought to hear this from," she whispered, "but you ought to know before you get onboard. Horus is dead."

All the warmth suddenly left Rose's chest, and she felt sure she would have fallen had it not been for Liesa's tight hold on her. "How?" she gasped.

"Illness," Liesa said. "The lake had already frozen over, so we couldn't get him to your healer easily. We did everything we could, but it was too late. I'm sorry. I know how fond you were of him."

Rose sniffled, and her eyes itched from the tears she refused to shed. She wouldn't be a little girl and start bawling now, but she wasn't sure what else she could do. Her friend was dead. The sweet boy who had kissed her hand and blushed, the fifteen-year-old she had actually gotten along with, the person she had been most looking forward to seeing on her return to the ship was gone.

"We gave him a proper sea burial," Liesa said, rubbing her hand up and down Rose's back. "He talked about you, toward the end. Thought you were by his side. It was just the fever, of course, but he really believed you were right there."

"What did he say?" Rose asked, and she sniffled again but didn't dare let go of the rope to wipe her nose on the back of her hand.

"He said that he loved you, and that he hoped this ship would be as much a home for you as it was for him." Liesa smiled gently. "He probably thought you were going to join us and sail away wherever we went. I think he would have liked your company."

Rose was spared having to reply by the plank reaching the deck of the ship. Captain Anholts helped both of them step onto the safety of the deck, and after taking one look at Rose's face, he asked, "She knows?"

Rose nodded, and Liesa said, "I thought it would be best she found out before getting disappointed."

"You chose well," Captain Anholts said. He draped a hand over Rose's shoulder and guided her to his cabin. "There's no shame in weeping," he said in a low voice. "We all cried at the funeral. Even Tavian cried a little. But I understand if you want some privacy. Is that what you would prefer?"

Rose nodded again. She didn't particularly want to speak. There was something difficult about knowing that people understood and were willing to be kind to her. If they had all be hard and difficult, she could have quite easily hidden her tears until she was in the girls' bathroom or alone in her dormitory, but Captain Anholts was allowing her to have feelings, and it was so difficult to avoid them when she knew she could trust him. Still, she managed to keep from crying until she was inside his cabin and he had closed the door.

Rose wasn't sure how long she sat in the captain's chair. Every time she seemed about to stop crying, she would remember how Horus would row out to meet her, or how good he had been getting at reading, or how he had kissed her hand that last day. When she managed to quiet a little, Captain Anholts gave her a handkerchief and asked, "Are you all right?"

Rose shrugged and wiped her eyes. She wasn't sure if she would ever be all right again.

"It's a common thing on the sea to lose a friend," Captain Anholts said, setting his hand on her shoulder. "It always hits hard, but the hardest is the first time. I think, over the years, I've forgotten that. I saw how much the two of you meant to each other, and I hope I can remember that. If I ever seem selfish in complaining about how I need a new cabin boy, I hope you can forgive me."

Rose nodded. "I'll always forgive you," she said.

Captain Anholts smiled. "Now, this may not be the time, but I don't want to put this off for too long." He opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a bundle wrapped in old fabric and rope. "I've got a late Christmas gift for you."

"You didn't have to," Rose said, wiping away her tears on the handkerchief.

"That's the whole point of a gift, as I understand it." He pressed the bundle into her hands. "Open it. I want you to have some reason to be happy today."

Rose sniffled again and unwrapped the bundle. The fabric fell away easily, revealing a knife with a blade as long as her palm. It wasn't a decorative knife; it was sturdy and serviceable, and even without pulling it from its sheath she knew it would be sharp. "Thank you," she said. "But… why?"

"Because it might be useful," he said. "You never know when you might need a knife to protect yourself." He began to pace around his office, and Rose followed him with her gaze. "The world's a dangerous place," he went on. "You're young, but not too young to get into trouble. I wouldn't want to see any harm come to you, so I thought a knife would be a good gift."

"I've got magic," Rose said. She didn't know why she felt so sharp and defensive, or why she still held onto the knife even if she didn't think she needed it. "Magic's just as good as knives."

"And what if you haven't got your wand?" Captain Anholts asked.

"And what if I haven't got this knife?" Rose retorted.

The serious look vanished from the captain's face, and he smiled again. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't mean to be so quick to snap. I just tend to grow fond of people very easily, and after losing a member of my crew, I'm a little worried about everyone else. I hope you don't think it's presumptuous of me to say this, but I think of you as the daughter I never got a chance to have."

Rose felt her cheeks grow warm. "I don't think it's presumptuous," she said quietly. "I've gotten very fond of you, too."

The captain's smile grew wider. "Do you think you're ready to face the crew now?" he asked.

"Sure." After the captain gave her a belt to attach the knife to, Rose strode out onto the deck. She knew she probably looked like she'd been crying – her nose and eyes always got bright red, and the color didn't fade for a long time – but none of the crew commented on it. Instead, they went up to her and set their hands on her shoulders and told her how glad they were to see her again. It was like being at the Burrow once more, only the air was sharp and cold and she was the only one there in a bright sweater.

The only person who didn't go up to her was Tavian. He stood against the side of the deck, and when she caught sight of him, he glared at her and turned away. Rose didn't have much time to think about that, though, because there were so many other people vying for her attention.

"Great knife," Rike said with a grin. "I hope carrying it around doesn't turn you into a killer."

"She's twelve years old," Captain Anholts said. "I doubt she'll be killing anyone for a few years yet." He laughed, and Rose laughed as well. It felt nice to have an excuse to be happy, and by the time Liesa was helping her walk back across the lake, she felt almost back to normal.

"I hope you'll come back sometime," Liesa said. "I know Horus is gone, but the rest of us still care about you."

"I'll be back," Rose promised.

"Good. And bring the knife." Liesa swatted her arm playfully, almost like an older sister might. "It makes you look tough, like one of us."

_One of us._ There was something comforting about that phrase, about having someplace to belong. The knife was comforting too, although Rose was sure she would have to keep it hidden while at Hogwarts. It wasn't exactly normal, but neither was she.


	13. Tavian

The next time Rose went out to the ship, someone was already heading out to meet her. She took a few steps onto the ice before realizing that the person wasn't Liesa and wasn't walking unsteadily but skating, or trying to, through the snow. Rose stepped back onto the shore, flicked her wand from her sleeve – she liked carrying it there because it made her feel sneaky, just like she liked belting her knife under her sweater – and swished it, saying, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" on the flick.

Some of the snow rose up from the lake in a straight line, creating a path for the skater, who sped up as soon as the ice was clear. Rose directed the snow to the side and let it fall again, and by the time she had the wand up her sleeve once more, the skater was close enough for her to tell who it was.

Tavian.

Rose hissed in annoyance but didn't turn to leave. If Tavian was coming out to see her, then she would stay put and find out exactly what he wanted. She also had a certain few things to say to him, particularly about how he had treated Horus. Her grief had faded, somewhat, by distracting herself through work and burying _Peter Pan _at the bottom of her trunk where she wouldn't have to see it until it was time to pack for summer, but it was still there, and now it smoldered like a small flame, ready to ignite and latch on to Tavian.

He reached the shore a few minutes later, and Rose just gave him time to pull the blades from his boots before backhanding him. It wasn't a particularly hard strike, as she wasn't tall enough to properly reach his face, and she supposed she should have gone for a punch to the stomach. But it was already done, so she set her hands on her hips and glared up at him.

"Do you want an explanation, or do you already know why I did that?" she asked.

Tavian didn't respond but reached up and set a hand on his cheek, where she had struck him. The glove must have softened the blow a little, for his skin wasn't even turning red, but then she saw how hollow his cheek looked, as though he had barely been eating, and the shadows under his eyes. She hadn't been close enough to him on the ship to get a proper look at him, but now she realized he was haggard and drawn. Something else had happened to him.

"It's about Horus, isn't it?" he said in a low voice, and then he doubled over, making a sound that was somewhere between a gasp and a sob.

This was not at all what Rose had expected. She knew it wouldn't go exactly the way she had planned it out in her head during those few minutes before he reached the shore, particularly because her imagined Tavian was more a stock pirate than anything else, but she had thought he might scoff, or strike her back, or turn and head back to the ship. She hadn't thought he would start crying.

"I'm sorry," he said as he straightened. His voice was back under control, but Rose saw tears caught in his eyelashes. "I'm sure I deserved that. No, I know I did."

"You deserve a good bit more than that," Rose said, raising her hand. This was much more like what she had hoped would happen, and she was ready to strike him again, but Tavian grabbed her wrist and held her arm in place.

"Somewhere else," he said. "There are things I think you ought to know, and I will tell you all that I dare, and then you can strike me if you want, but not here." He glanced over his shoulder at the ship, as though expecting some kind of pursuit, but as far as Rose could tell, no one had even noticed he was gone. "Please?"

"Fine." Rose pulled her wrist from his grasp and turned, stalking off to the Forbidden Forest. It was much harder to stalk and look determined and powerful when walking through snow, and she was sure the cozy sweater didn't help matters, but she kept a determined glare on her face even when not facing Tavian and didn't stop walking until they were hidden by the trees. She didn't lead him very far in, because the forest looked ominous even without the cover of the leaves, and besides, she didn't need to go very far for this.

When they stopped, Tavian looked around at the forest in wonder. "I saw something like this before," he said. "It was in one of the Germanic lands. We were marching on barbarians – I scarcely remember which kind, there were so many – and we saw a great forest. It was beautiful and wild, though not as stark as this, because it was summer."

Rose leaned her back against a tree, frowning. "I don't understand," she said. "Captain Anholts said you were from a place called the Fourth Land." Unless there was some linguistic oddity at work, like convergent evolution for words, there wouldn't be Germanic lands in some island that wasn't even on Earth.

Tavian shook his head. "Captain Anholts lied," he said. "I'm not from any place called Fourth Land, wherever that may be. I was born in Rome."

Rose gasped. "Tavian… Octavian?"

Tavian smiled a little, though he still looked haunted and anxious. "That's the name I was born with," he said. "I haven't used it for years, though, not since I became the cabin boy for the ship. Captain Anholts thought it sounded too grand, so he called me Tavian, and I grew into the name after a while."

"You were the cabin boy before Horus, then?" Despite herself, Rose was curious, and she leaned forward.

Tavian nodded. "Until we picked up that boy from the Nile, I was. I was glad to have someone to replace me, and I suppose I should have shown that more." He glanced through the trees nervously, but apparently nothing appeared to frighten him, for he relaxed and went on. "But if I'd been kind, then he would have wound up being taken away, the same way I was."

A little chill ran through Rose's spine, though she couldn't quite say why. "Taken away?"

"I did go along knowingly," Tavian said. "Captain Anholts told me I was his luck boy, that I would bless his ship. I believed his flatteries and went along with them, and by the time I realized we were nowhere near Rome, it was too late to go back. By the end of my first year, I knew I would never be able to return home."

"Is that the same thing that happened to Horus?" Rose asked. Her voice felt hollow, and she wanted to curl up against the tree and cry again. But she wouldn't cry in front of Tavian. No matter how trustworthy he seemed, she refused to show him any weakness. "Did they trick him?"

"They did," Tavian said, "and they'll trick you, too."

Rose shook her head. "I'm too clever for that. They won't get me to leave Hogwarts."

"And who keeps telling you how clever you are? Who tells you how lucky you are, how special you are?" Tavian crossed the few feet that separated them and grabbed her arm. With his other hand he lifted her chin so she looked into his eyes. "Captain Anholts knows how to win people's hearts. It's how he got his whole crew. A good number of them were glad to go, or at least they're glad to stay, but those are the ones with good positions… Rike and Liesa and Ardashir. You'll be a cabin girl, doing whatever minor chores they give you. Your only hope of advancement will be if they find some other child to come along with them."

Rose wrenched her gaze from Tavian's, but her back was still against the tree, so she couldn't run. "I'm not going to leave with the pirates," she said. "They can't convince me to."

"They will if they take their time," Tavian said. "Please, you have to believe me. You can't go on the ship again."

Rose looked up and searched Tavian's face, looking for any hint of a lie. He looked as though he might drop to his knees and beg her not to go back to the ship. If she agreed, he would release her, and go back, and then… what? She would go back to being an ordinary twelve-year-old girl? She wouldn't be lucky anymore?

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked.

"Because I don't want to see you make the same mistake Horus did," Tavian said. "You're a lot like him; you won't go along with people ordering you around. Captain Anholts is winning your heart by seeming to give you freedom, but as soon as you're stuck on the ship, you won't be able to escape."

"Sure I can," Rose said. "You could escape right now if you wanted to leave so badly."

"And where would I go? I know nothing of this country, nor of this time. We have journeyed through time and space, so even if you get to see this world again, it might be long in the past or far in the future. Could you survive that?" Tavian's grip on her arm tightened, and he looked almost desperate now, even to the point of trembling.

Rose's first instinct was to say that of course she could. She could survive everything so long as she had her knife and her wand, but there might be a world where magic didn't work the way it did on Earth, and then she would be only a twelve-year-old armed with a knife, set up against possibly much more dangerous people. She didn't know where she might be able to go or what she could do if she were tossed into some other world, where she would know no one or nothing.

"Let me go," she said, and Tavian released her. "I still don't know if I can trust you."

"Then take your time," he said. "But take it carefully."

"You could have tried to help Horus," she said. "You could have warned him the same way you're warning me." He would still have been dead by this time, perhaps, but she wouldn't have had to know about his dying, and it might have been a little better that way.

"You think I didn't?" Tavian's voice broke, and he nearly grabbed Rose's arm again, but she stepped away quickly. "I did everything I could to save him. I was cruel and tried to send him away, but it didn't work. This time I decided to take a different tactic. I thought I would be honest, because I knew you would believe me."

"You were cruel to him even after he arrived on the ship," Rose said. "You didn't have to be, and I still won't trust you." She turned and walked out of the forest, snow crunching beneath her heavy boots.

"Will you at least be careful?" Tavian cried.

Rose paused at the edge of the forest. There was still no one approaching the shore, and the ship was where it had always been. "I'll be careful," she said after a moment, "but only because I would have been anyway. I won't believe you, though, and I won't trust you."

Tavian didn't follow her out of the forest, and she felt a strange sort of victory in that. She had won, even if not in the way she had expected. As she returned to the castle, though, she looked at the ship and wondered whether there was any truth in what Tavian had said. Perhaps she wouldn't tell Captain Anholts about what he had said, just in case there was.


	14. The Golden Quartet

True to what she told Tavian, Rose was careful. She didn't go out to the ship, or even out to the lake, for the next few days. Of course, she had every reason not to go, as she would happily tell Captain Anholts, Liesa, or anyone who asked where she had been for so long. The weather was worse than poor; there was a blizzard, and while she could have walked out to the lake, she likely couldn't have made it across in the middle of the storm, which lasted for two days and cancelled a Quidditch game. Not even the most fanatical of team captains would have insisted on playing on a day when there was zero visibility and the temperature was far below zero. It would have been foolhardy for her to make the trek out to the ship, and she was far too clever for that.

Besides the cold, Rose wasn't feeling at all well. Perhaps it was the shock of having Horus die, or perhaps it was from spending too much time in the wind and snow – surely the pirates couldn't know enough about medicine to understand that it would be germs that would make her sick rather than the weather – but whatever the cause, she felt feverish and had a slight cough. Surely it wouldn't be safe for her to go out through a blizzard, even to meet her friends. Madame Longbottom had expressly forbade her from doing anything strenuous until she was quite recovered. At least, that was what Rose would tell the pirates if they insisted that the blizzard hadn't been that bad. The truth was that, while she didn't feel as well as normal, she could have quite easily gone out into the snow and not been at all afraid for her health.

The most pressing reason, at least to Rose, was homework. For whatever reason, her professors had decided that right after the Christmas holidays was the perfect time to give the second years more to do. Rose didn't mind, or she wouldn't have if she hadn't already had a lot on her plate, but it did mean that she had to do a lot more work to stay ahead. The work was a bit harder than it had been in the first half of the year, and all the professors warned them that it would be even harder when they reached their third year.

"But we'll be thirteen by then," Laura Sienkiewicz, a second year Gryffindor with a blonde braid that reached her hips, said after a particularly trying Defense Against the Dark Arts class. "We're still kids right now."

"Some people are thirteen," Rose said. Her birthday was coming up in a few months, and she knew of at least two people whose birthdays had already passed. "Besides, it's not that bad."

"Says you," Laura snapped. "Of course brilliant Rose doesn't have anything to worry about." After a moment she sighed. "Sorry," she said. "It's just hard sometimes. I try to do the best I can, because my parents moved here from Poland so I could go to Hogwarts, but then I have to compete against you, and there's no way anyone could win."

Hearing that bolstered Rose's confidence a little, but she managed to turn her grin into a friendly smile. "It's not a competition, Laura," she said. "Well, it is, but just between me and Scorpius. I don't want you to do poorly." _Not as long as I'm still the best,_ she added silently. "If you want, I could help you study."

"That's okay," Laura said. "I'm getting some help from a third year. Do you want to join us? Not that you need help, but you at least know what we're studying right now."

Rose shook her head. "I've got my own study group to go to," she said, and as soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew that, in fact, she did.

As soon as classes were done, she headed to the library and worked her way through the stacks of books to the table Albus, Scorpius, and Ruby had claimed the previous year. As she had expected, they were there, reading through thick books and occasionally stopping to quiz each other. Rose had to pause for a moment before stepping in. It wasn't that she was nervous about approaching them, she told herself. It was just that she wasn't sure she ought to go up to them while Scorpius was there.

In the end, she decided it hardly mattered. If they turned her away, well, there were other tables, and the blizzard wasn't all that bad. She was only there because Albus and Ruby had said they wanted to spend time with her. If that wasn't the case, she could move on.

"Hi," she said once she drew close to the table, and everyone looked up at her. Ruby was the first to react, jumping to her feet and grabbing Rose's hand to pull her to the table before Rose could say anything about why she was there. Albus grinned as Ruby pushed Rose into a chair, and even Scorpius gave her a shy smile, though he quickly looked down at his book.

"It's about time you made it to the library," Ruby said, passing Rose one of the unopened books. "I thought I wasn't going to see you all year."

"You saw me on the train," Rose said. The book was about Transfiguration theory, and it was stuff that she wouldn't have gotten into in her classes for a few years yet. The library really was the best way to get ahead in her reading.

"The train doesn't count," Ruby said. "Neither does wherever you spent Christmas, because Albus was saying he hadn't spent any time with you either, and Albus isn't a liar."

"I've just been really busy," Rose said. She hoped Ruby would let her get to actually studying, but at the same time, she kind of enjoyed the attention. There was something nice about knowing she had been missed that much, and if they were so eager to see her after being apart from her for half a year, then she couldn't possibly leave on the pirate ship, no matter how clever Captain Anholts said she was.

"Too busy for your friends?" Ruby asked. "Albus told me that you're spending all your time with a bunch of pirates." Ruby leaned across the table. "Are they really more interesting than us?"

"They're just different," Rose said. "They're new, and I wanted to find out as much as I could about them." She looked down at the book again and found she had turned the page without reading a single word. "I wouldn't abandon you forever. I just thought that my rivalry with Scorpius might get in the way of all this."

"Hey, where are you going?"

Rose hadn't forgotten that Albus and Scorpius were still at the table, but Albus's voice made her realize that the boys were doing something besides studying. She looked up and saw that Scorpius had risen and was packing away his books. "Is something wrong?" she asked, and Scorpius flinched a little.

"It's nothing," he said quickly, but Rose was sure there was something else. After a moment, he went on, speaking in a rush, "I just don't want to get in the way of your friendship with them. If our rivalry will do that, then… I can study on my own. It's fine." He gave them all a quick, insincere smile. "See you in the common room, Albus."

Scorpius didn't have the chance to take more than a step before Albus grabbed his arm and pulled him back to the table. "You're one of us, Scorpius," he said. "You're our friend, and we're not going let you walk away from that."

Scorpius's cheeks turned pink, and he smiled as Ruby chimed in with, "You're the first friend I made here. You don't get to just leave."

"But…" Scorpius bit his lower lip and glanced at Rose, his cheeks turning even pinker. "I don't want to get in the way of your friendship," he said again. "And you two are cousins. You ought to spend time together."

"It's fine," Rose said. "We can ignore our rivalry when these two are around. But don't think this means I'm going to go easier on you just because we have the same friends."

"Good," Scorpius said, though she couldn't tell whether he was glad he could stay with his friends or glad that their rivalry could continue otherwise unabated. He sat down and opened his book again, but instead of studying, he looked up and asked, "So, are the pirates really from another world? That's what Albus told us. He said you gave them a letter to send to Avina." He looked almost as happy as Albus had been to know that that there was a way they could get in touch with Avina, and Rose forced herself to smile despite the doubt that began to gnaw at her mind.

"Yeah," she said. "They came here because that thing that was in Essemeulia attacked them. They used magic to escape but weren't sure where they were going to go."

Or had they known? Maybe they had come here looking for a cabin girl – or boy – who wouldn't know anything about them. Maybe they had spent too long near Essemeulia and needed to leave for a place where they wouldn't be known, a place where they could be the kings of the sea. Maybe they weren't going back to Essemeulia at all, and Avina would never get that long letter Albus had written.

Maybe they hadn't bothered to keep the letter at all.

"Rose?" Ruby asked, touching her shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Rose said quickly. She didn't want to be the only one who felt disturbed, but she also didn't want to let Albus know that Avina might never get his letter. "It's just been a while since I've seen you guys. I missed you."

"We missed you too," Ruby said, and she tapped her finger lightly against Rose's temple. It wasn't a kiss, but Rose still felt butterflies in her stomach, and she hoped she wasn't blushing.

Albus reached across the table and patted Rose's arm then, and the awkwardness of the reach made her laugh and for a moment forget that faint bit of nervous tension that had shot through her at Ruby's touch. She turned to Scorpius, silently daring him to pat her as well, and he just smiled nervously, though she thought she felt his shoe tap her shin beneath the table.

"So, what are we working on today?" she asked, looking down at her book again. "Is it just theory?"

"For now," Albus said. "Ruby wants to do some practical work, but Scorpius and I told her it was too cold outside." Scorpius nodded, and Rose felt a moment of pity for him. He looked as though he wouldn't last five minutes in a blizzard.

"But we'll work on spells as soon as it's warm enough," Ruby said. "You should join us. I've been looking at some third year stuff that should be fun, and I think we can steal the Quidditch pitch sometime."

"Could we use brooms, too?" Rose asked. Midair spells had to be the best. After all, they could be shot in midair, which would have to improve everything.

"Sure!" Ruby said, her eyes lighting up. Both boys looked a bit nervous, but Albus was soon won over, and Scorpius agreed to join them, though Rose could still hear the trepidation in his voice.

For the rest of that afternoon, it was just like the old days, sitting in the library, studying things that wouldn't at all help them with their homework the next day but were far more interesting in any case. Once again, the library felt like a home to her.


	15. City of Sanctuary

It felt strange to be so close to Scorpius, at least at first, and Rose could tell that he felt the same. She was so used to wanting to beat him that she wasn't sure how she could be friends with him, although she had to admit that they time they spent together wasn't at all unpleasant. In fact, she sometimes found herself enjoying his company, though she doubted she would have admitted that to anyone. She didn't even enjoy it in the way where she would tease him and make faces at him during their study sessions. She actually liked being able to glance up from her book and know that Scorpius would be there, right across from her. Sometimes he would glance up, too, and she would meet his gaze for a second before they both looked away, blushing.

It was almost a relief when Rose ran into Captain Anholts outside a few weeks later, if only because she at least knew how she felt about him. It was strangely calming to feel a sharp pulse of hatred race through her, though she did her best to hide her emotions as he approached. She didn't want him to know how she felt, not yet.

Tavian had told her to be careful, and so careful she would be, no matter how much she still disliked the man.

"Rose!" Captain Anholts said when he spotted her, and he strode through the snow to meet her. It was a Saturday, and she had decided to take a walk outside rather than sitting in the library. Maybe the captain had spotted her bright red hair and realized who she was.

"Hi," she said, allowing him to fall into step beside her. Once around the castle, she decided, and then she would say she had to go in. Though the blizzard of before had largely cleared away, it was still bitterly cold, and she knew her nose and ears were already bright red. "What are you doing around here?"

"I thought I'd come see you," he said. "Is it such a problem that I want to see a clever, lucky girl like my Rose?"

The words stung, but Rose tried not to let it show. She couldn't help thinking of what Tavian had said, about how he had been called clever and lucky, and lured aboard the ship.

"You haven't been around lately," the captain went on. "We were worried something might have happened to you. None of us want that, not even Tavian."

_I was sick_. Rose was tempted to make the excuse, but then, what sort of illness could keep her locked away for so long? The weather wasn't the best either, since there had been a few decently warm days, although none had been warm enough that she could leave behind her sweater and cloak. There was only one excuse left, and she was very glad she had it. "I've had a lot of schoolwork lately," she said. "There's this boy, Scorpius, and I have to do better than him in my classes."

The captain nodded knowingly. "I had plenty of rivalries when I was a boy. Tell me, do you stand a chance at winning?"

The words stung again, but this time because she felt sure he saw her rivalry as a childish thing, something she would leave behind when she was a bit older. _He's trying to trick me, _she thought. _If I try to be mature to impress him, that will entice me to leave on the ship._ Even suspecting his reason for speaking didn't ease the sting, and she said, a bit defensively, "Better than a chance. I beat him last year, and I'll do it again this year."

"I have no doubt of that," Captain Anholts said, and Rose felt a small glow of pride, even though she tried to fight it. He was charming, and he knew how to win hearts. He was already starting to win hers. "Does this mean you won't be returning to the ship? After all, a student ought to focus on her studies."

_Be careful_, she remembered. She couldn't afford to shove him away now. She didn't know what would happen if she did, and she wasn't sure she wanted to find out. He was one of those dangerous pirates, the kind that could kill. Perhaps he even had killed already, and a tiny shiver ran down her spine. She couldn't go about this the same way she would with anything else. "I might go back," she said after a moment of thought. "I just need to get far enough ahead before I do."

"I look forward to seeing you again," Captain Anholts said with the sort of smile that could have won over anyone. "Vittore missed you a lot."

Rose had almost forgotten about the wounded woman, and now instead of hatred, she felt guilt. Vittore couldn't possibly be as cruel as Captain Anholts, and she'd insisted that Rose was lucky and wonderful. Perhaps she would go back, if only to talk to her. "How is she?"

"She does better by the day," Captain Anholts said. "By the time the ice is cleared, she should be ready to travel."

"And is that when you'll leave?" Rose asked.

The captain laughed and slapped her on the shoulder. "I hope that wasn't excitement I heard in your voice," he said, and though his tone was teasing, Rose wondered whether he could tell. "I hadn't thought you'd be so eager to have us gone."

"I'm not," she said, and something about her reply amused him enough to make him laugh again. "I just wanted to know. I don't want to come outside and find out that the ship's just left." She didn't, either. No matter what Tavian had told her, she didn't want them to just leave; she wanted their company again, and the chance to learn from them, and she couldn't have that after they vanished. She had it now, even if she wasn't taking any advantage of it, and that only brought the guilt back.

"We'd at least be sure to say good-bye to you," the captain said. "You've been a good friend to us, Rose."

"You were a good friend to me, too," she said. He had been, even if Horus had been better and even if she was wary of him now. "I'll be sad to see you go."

"Before that day, I'd like to thank you again for the map," he said. "I like to have a map from every world I visit, even if I never return." He smiled and gave her a sideways glance that seemed to say he was sharing a private joke with her. "I particularly like trying to pronounce all the names I find."

If it hadn't been for her caution, Rose would have told him about Wales and written down the longest place name she knew, one that she still had trouble pronouncing. Instead, she just nodded and asked, "How many worlds have you visited?" She wanted very much to hear the answer; it would remind her that she would never have had a chance to return to England, just as Tavian had said. Why she wanted Tavian to be right, she didn't know, but it would feel satisfying.

"A good many," Captain Anholts said with a smile. "Though worlds do change from place to place, so it could be very few instead."

"Do you travel through time, too?" Rose asked. She tried to keep her tone casual, but her boots came down on the snow hard enough to pack it tight, and each step up kicked a blast of fresh powder up as high as her knees.

"I can't rightly say," Captain Anholts replied. "It's possible, though I never got proof."

She could give him that proof. She could tell him that Tavian had come from a time thousands of years before hers, and that Horus had come from a time before even that. She could accuse him of any number of things, but instead she was careful and said, "But I thought you were from the same world as Essemeulia."

The captain paused, as though she had caught him in a lie, and her mind raced, trying to figure out how he might respond. After a brief moment, he relaxed a little and said, "That's where we were most recently from. We did spend a long while there, I'll admit."

"I must have just misunderstood," Rose said, and the captain nodded his agreement.

"I'll tell you something else, though," he said, and Rose's ears perked up at once. "The thing that was near Essemeulia was in other worlds as well."

She'd known that, but she wasn't about to announce it. Being careful, she supposed, was rather like being a Slytherin, or what she understood them to be. She would watch, and wait, and look for her best chance to move rather than charging ahead. "How many other worlds?" she asked.

"Three that we passed through, and possibly many more. Whatever it is, it's spreading, and I don't know how." For the first time, the captain looked disturbed, and Rose felt a pang of fear at wondering what it was that could actually frighten him. "Ever since we knew it could jump through worlds, we've been looking for a place where we can be safe from it. There are rumors of a city on some world where the thing cannot enter."

"Which world?" Rose asked.

"We don't know," the captain said. "It may be that the city's only a rumor, and that we're a bunch of fools chasing a dream made of starlight. Still, I hope to find it someday. My crew's lives depend on it." He stopped suddenly and set a hand on her shoulder, halting her. "My crew is like my family, Rose, and I'm sure I've told you that already."

He had also told her that she was like his family, and Rose felt sure she knew what was coming next.

"I don't want to pressure you," he said, "but I am afraid for you. It's possible that the thing will never reach your world, or that it will come long after you've died, but I don't want to take that risk. Come with us, Rose. Come with us and be safe."

"I can't," she said, and now she had a reason for staying besides Tavian's fears. She didn't want Tavian to be her reason to dislike Captain Anholts.

The captain frowned. "Why not?"

"I have to protect my friends," she said. "If that thing does come here, then I want to be able to defend them. I won't abandon anyone I care about."

Captain Anholts looked conflicted, and she wondered whether he would tell her that she was only twelve and couldn't defend anyone, or if he would insist that she had friends on the ship that she could defend. After a while, he sighed and said, "I understand. I wouldn't abandon any of my crew, either. I suppose we're just too similar to keep each other's company."

"Can I come back to the ship to visit, though?" Rose asked as they walked on.

"Of course," the captain said with a smile. "Vittore will be glad to see you, and so will Rike and Liesa. I'm sure the others will, too, and if Tavian's still as surly about you, then I'll be sure to lock him in the brig when you visit." He laughed, but Rose couldn't tell if he was joking.

"Thanks for the knife," she said as they returned to the castle.

"Of course," the captain said. "I was glad to give it to you." After a moment of walking silently, he asked, "Do you still wear it?"

Rose nodded. She could feel it even now, strapped under her shirt and kept warm with the heat from her body. She would still keep it, even if she couldn't trust him.


	16. On the Ship

Rose hadn't planned to go back to the ship at all. If the pirates wanted to see her, they could come to shore and visit her there. If they asked why she had spent so long away from them, she could come up with a dozen different excuses, though she would likely just use the one about schoolwork. The professors hadn't let up one bit, although by the middle of February, most of the students were managing just fine, though there were a few incidents of people getting stressed. Laura had gotten into a small fight with her third year tutor and apparently Peter had started crying in the middle of breakfast. The problems solved themselves rather quickly, though, and soon most of the second years were wondering why they had worried at all.

Rose had been staying caught up easily, and it wasn't long before she was again well ahead of the rest of the second years. Scorpius even confided to her that she was ahead of him, and he didn't sound bitter about it at all. In fact, he sounded almost admiring, as though he thought it was great that she was doing so well. He quickly added that he would still do everything he could to beat her, but Rose couldn't shake the thought that maybe he wasn't as devoted to this rivalry as he had been their first year, and neither was she. It wasn't that she didn't care; maybe the novelty of it had just worn away.

So she went out to the lake one day in March, on a day when the other three – who were also doing quite well in their classes, though not as well as she was – had decided to take a break. Albus and Scorpius did have Quidditch practice, even if they were reserves, and Ruby was going to spend time with some of her Ravenclaw friends, so Rose found herself with nothing to do. After an hour of roaming the castle, she spotted the ship sitting on the lake and decided she might as well head out for a walk, and if she found herself going toward it, then what would be the harm? She would still be careful, but she would also show Tavian that she wasn't ready to trust him.

Most of the snow had melted away, and what remained looked like little icebergs floating in a muddy sea. The ground squelched under Rose's boots, and she couldn't help grinning a little at the sound. It was childish, sure, but still fun, and she hadn't had a chance to properly play in mud since before coming to Hogwarts. She wondered if Hugo still did, and if he invited Lily over just so they could run around a muddy backyard and get into tussles, the way she had with him. Of course, both of them were rather gentler than she had been, so maybe they found other games.

As she drew closer to the shore, Rose saw the longboat approaching. Curiosity kept her from turning and walking away, and with a whispered "_Scourgify"_, she cleaned off her boots. Her mother had always done that to shoes before anyone could step into the house, and given the sorts of adventures Rose would go on, it was probably best that it became a habit. The spell was easy to remember, too, even if it didn't mean at all what it sounded like.

_Is there a spell for scourging? _she wondered as she stepped onto a rock to keep more mud from getting onto her boots. If there were, it was probably in the Restricted Section, and after hearing from Ruby what had happened to Scorpius when he ventured there at night, Rose decided she would wait a while. She didn't want to do anything that would make her sure she would be caught, and she doubted idle curiosity would be accepted as an excuse. Scorpius, at least, had been trying to do something noble. She just wanted to answer a question.

The boat drew closer, and soon Rose recognized Rike at the oars. Seeing her, for some reason, was a relief that she was sure she wouldn't have felt had it been Liesa or Captain Anholts. Rose waved, and Rike made for the rock before rising to give Rose a hand in.

"It's good to see you again," Rike said as Rose sat down and took an oar. "The captain says you've been busy."

"Yeah," Rose said. "There's been a lot of schoolwork going on, but I'm taking a study break today." It was nice to get out of the library again, homey as it had been, and do something with her body instead of just her mind. After a few strokes, the feeling of the oar again became familiar, although she now had to navigate around chunks of ice instead of rowing straight for the ship.

"Tell the truth," Rike said with a grin. "Clever as you are, do you really need to study?"

Rose shrugged. The way Rike said clever didn't make it sound like she was trying to flatter her; it sounded as though she really believed Rose was clever enough to not have to worry about studying, though it was possible she was just good at lying. Rose used her oar to shove a bit of ice aside and wondered whether perhaps she ought to leave being cautious and calculating to the Slytherins. Her skill set lay elsewhere. "I need to study a little," she said. "Just enough to get used to all the work we have to do now."

"But for months?" Rike shook her head. "You've been neglecting your friends, Rose."

Rose's cheeks grew warm. She hadn't thought they would miss her that much, but the tone in Rike's voice was the same that she had heard from Ruby and Albus. "Sorry," she said. "I guess I just let things get a little away from me."

"That's all right," Rike said. "It just means we get to throw an even greater celebration to have you back." She tied the ropes to the ends of the longboat, tugged them, and the boat rose out of the water and up the stern of the ship. Unlike the first time, Rose wasn't afraid she would be tipped out into the water. Instead, she simply sat back and relaxed, enjoying movement and the way she rose up into the air.

The rest of the crew was excited to see her again, even more so than when she had returned from the Christmas holidays, though perhaps the fact that no one had died recently meant they didn't have to put any dampers on their enthusiasm. Rose was patted on the back and welcomed by everyone, and they all spoke so quickly and eagerly that she missed a good half of what they said. It hardly mattered, though, because the half she did hear made her feel like there was a light inside her. All these people, older and more experienced than she was, wanted her company and valued her presence. They weren't even family, who kind of had to like her around. The pirates liked her just… because.

Captain Anholts seemed the happiest to see her, though his happiness was more subdued than the others'. "I'm glad you returned," he said, setting a hand on her shoulder.

"I've still got a lot to learn," Rose said.

The captain grinned. "Then I suppose we ought to start teaching you as soon as we can."

And they did. Rose had never had so many different lessons crammed into one day as she did once she started learning from the pirates. She had her school lessons, of course, and they resumed teaching her what they had before the Christmas holidays, but there was so much more now. She learned different languages, or at least how to say a few scattered words in them. Most of the words were curses, but they were so much more fun to say than the few English swears she had picked up from various family members (mostly her father, but Uncle George had taught her some fun ones under the promise that she never tell her mother). She often got the curses confused with the words that were actually useful, and the pirates were very amused when she would stub her toe and yell _"Port!" _in some foreign tongue.

It wasn't just languages, though. She learned more intricate details of seamanship, like how to work a sextant – though it wasn't all that useful when the ship was only in one place – and how to work a compass properly. She learned map-reading skills, and the ship's cartographer, a woman named Reut, taught her some of the basics of making a map, though Rose wasn't at all artistic and more often than not wound up drawing formless blobs instead of proper shapes. Those lessons didn't last very long.

Her favorite lessons were the ones where time seemed to lose itself, and Rose returned to Hogwarts feeling as though her eyes had grown wide and strange from all she knew. Sometimes it was from hearing stories about the different places the pirates had been, but mostly, that feeling came from the fighting lessons.

Rose had known how to fight before this, though that had been largely self-taught and against members of her family, who wouldn't properly hurt her and who she wouldn't want to hurt in return. She'd had a few bruises and scrapes from James, and given a few to Albus, Hugo, and Lily, but that had all been play-fighting, the kind that their parents would shake their heads over but ultimately allow. This fighting was real. It was wild and exciting, and Rose rarely left the ship without feeling hurt somehow, whether from a welt or a bruise, or just the soreness from the day before.

She loved every moment of it.

The pirates wouldn't teach her how to fight with a pistol, saying she was too young for a gun, but they taught her how to fight with her fists, and she gave out a few bloody noses once she got good. Her small size made it difficult for her to get good blows in, but she learned to use her speed as well, darting away from her opponents' grasp before they could catch her. It helped that she had sharp elbows and knees, and the pirates taught her to use every opportunity she had to turn the fight in her favor.

"Honor is fine, but not when a life is on the line," Ardashir said one day, after she had driven her elbow into Rike's stomach and apologized automatically. "If Rike had meant to hurt you, would you be sorry for hurting her?"

She would, but she also knew that would be the wrong answer, so she shook her head. "I'd have to defend myself any way I could," she said.

"Right." Ardashir clapped her on the shoulder. "And now that you've learned that, it's time to teach you how to fight with a weapon. Not a pistol," he added before she could ask, "but something a little more useful to you." He winked, and Rose smiled.

That was the day she started learning how to fight with a knife.

They wouldn't let her fight with a real knife, of course, but she used a wooden one, and so did her opponents. She learned how to fight off other people with knives, and how to fight unarmed people, and how to fight someone with a sword. She liked it, too, the way getting in close and striking made her feel powerful. It was like being a proper warrior.

It made her feel bold.

All the while, she did her best to remember that she had to be careful, that she couldn't trust anyone, but it was hard. These were people she laughed with. How could they hurt her?


	17. Preparing for the Voyage

Rose's relationship with the pirates changed as spring came closer. She had started off being curious about them, and then she had grown to love them. That love had turned to caution, but now the caution faded away. Her mind just wasn't meant to be careful, she supposed, so she might as well do whatever felt best.

She remembered Tavian's warning, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to follow it as closely as she had thought she would. Perhaps it was because she didn't want to push away anything that could be both so exciting and so educational. Perhaps it was because she wanted to be there for Horus, who would never see her again, and Vittore, who always looked glad when she was around. Perhaps it was just that she felt appreciated by the pirates, just as much as by her other friends, and she didn't want to neglect them, just as she was trying not to neglect Albus, Ruby, and Scorpius.

The learning was incredible. She wasn't fluent in any of the languages they were trying to teach her, of course, but then there wasn't nearly enough time for her to become so. Still, she was learning quickly, and everything seemed to open up a new world. She could fight now, and not the childish play-fighting she had learned with James. When she carried her knife strapped against her chest, carefully hidden under her shirt, she felt strong, like she might be a warrior.

At least, she felt like she might be a warrior someday. Even though she still didn't think of herself as a child, she knew she was only twelve, and that was far too young to even think about trying to get in a proper fight. It was enough to know that, if she had to, she could.

As March faded, the weather grew warmer, and the last of the snow melted away. The lake was still cold, as James discovered when he decided to go out for a swim, but the air was growing warmer, Rose put away her Weasley sweater until next winter. It was a bit harder to hide her knife without it, but the robes helped her manage, and she found that decorative scarves could be both beautiful and useful. Lujayn was only happy to lend some of her old ones, and she treated Rose like a younger sister, which felt both strange and wonderful. The closest she'd come to having an older sister was Dominique, and Dominique was a Ravenclaw, so they didn't see all that much of each other.

"Are you sure you shouldn't be in Ravenclaw?" Lujayn asked one afternoon, as she put Rose's hair into a French braid. If spending time being treated like a pet by Lujayn was the price Rose had to pay for getting some scarves, she was willing to do that. Besides, it was kind of nice. "You're certainly clever enough to."

"But I like exploring more," Rose said. "I don't want to learn something if it's not interesting." Lujayn tugged a bit too hard on a strand of Rose's hair, and Rose winced but made no sound. "I'd have thought you'd be a Hufflepuff."

"Because I'm sweet and friendly?" Lujayn laughed. "I go on adventures every summer. Being nice isn't the same as being timid."

"Not all Hufflepuffs are timid," Rose said. "I've got a friend whose mom was a Hufflepuff, and my dad says she was one of the bravest women he'd ever met."

Lujayn patted Rose's shoulder. "I didn't mean to imply that," she said. "It's just so easy to feel as though everyone belongs in their groups, especially because we're put there specifically because of who we are." She tied a ribbon onto the end of Rose's braid. "Well, there's your hair done for today. Next week can I experiment with something new?"

"Sure," Rose said, getting to her feet. "I've got to run, though. See you around."

After giving a quick wave, Rose took off for the portrait hole. She raced down through the castle, dodging around various people who were almost in her way, and burst outside. Spring had finally, properly arrived, and the air smelled sweet and fresh. The mud had dried into earth again, and it was springy enough to give her a good boost with each step as she raced to the lake. The grass was that young, fresh green particular to April, and the lake was bright blue, only slightly darker than the sky. Leaves were starting to appear on the trees, and the Whomping Willow was thrashing about as wildly as ever, though it had quieted some over winter.

The ship was still on the lake, and as Rose approached the shore, she saw the longboat headed out to meet her. It always seemed to be on time lately, and she wondered how the pirates managed to know when she would be arriving. Perhaps she really was lucky.

Rike piloted the boat again, and Rose sprang in as soon as she could. "What am I going to learn today?" she asked as they rowed out to the ship. The lake was calm, and the rowing was easier than ever, though that could also have been from Rose's growing strength. She had noticed muscles on her arms during a shower one morning, and she suspected there were some in her back as well.

"I'm not sure," Rike said. "There's a lot of learning we'll have to pack into the next few weeks."

"Why's that?" Rose slowed a little in her rowing, and Rike did the same to keep the boat from going too far to the right.

Rike sighed, and Rose realized that the woman looked downright melancholy, though she wasn't sure why that would be. "The repairs are nearly done. We'll be leaving soon."

"Oh." Rose had almost forgotten the reason they had stayed so long in the first place. The ship hadn't looked too badly damaged, but there was enough evidence that it was for her to notice. The hull had been obviously patched up with spare wood, and the sails looked as though they had been mended several times. The figurehead was gone, and there were strange marks on the mast that must have come from the thing that attacked them. "How soon?"

"I can't say," Rike said. "It changes by the day. Sometimes we think it will take another month, but then something will go very well, and we'll think we're ready to leave within the week. But then something else will go wrong…" She sighed again. "I thought I ought to warn you so you wouldn't think we just abandoned you."

"Thanks," Rose said, and Rike set a hand on her shoulder. It felt almost like Lujayn's hand had, and Rose smiled. "I guess I'll have to learn fast, then."

"I guess so," Rike replied, but her smile looked forced.

Two of the crew members hoisted the boat up to the ship, and Rose sprang out. It hadn't taken her long to grow bold on the ship and around the water, even though this part of the lake was so deep that she wasn't sure anyone at Hogwarts had ever found the bottom. Even the mermaids might live in shallower parts than this. Someday she'd have to get some gillyweed and go for a dive – lots of gillyweed, in case her hour ran out and she had to eat more – but not today. Today she planned to learn.

"Welcome aboard," Captain Anholts said. "You look more eager than normal."

"Rike told me that you're planning to leave soon," Rose said. "There's a lot I still have to learn before you go."

"Quite right," he said. "We'll do what we can to continue your education, but we also need to prepare to leave. It will take a great deal of work, considering the magic here works differently than in our various homes."

"I can help!" Rose said eagerly. "I helped look up the spell that took Avina home. If you want I can see if I still have my notes." She did, of course. It was only her class notes that she ever threw away. Notes on transdimensional theory were far too important to lose. "I bet I can get my friends to help do some research if you need more than just that."

Captain Anholts smiled. "I'm grateful to you, clever girl, but I think we can handle this. It's a very different sort of magic than the kind Her Highness used."

"What kind of magic is it, then?" Rose asked, all thoughts of learning how to fight forgotten. "Is it something I could learn?"

"I don't know," the captain said.

"Well, is it something you'd be willing to teach me?" She didn't care if it had no bearing at all on her everyday life. Learning a new form of magic – a form of magic from another world, even – had to be more interesting than reviewing knife fighting techniques.

The captain's smile grew. "We'll see when we get closer to the day when we leave. Until then, I think Ardashir wanted to train you." He set a hand on her shoulder blade and gently pushed her to the pilot. "Go on. You wouldn't want to disappoint him."

Rose didn't want to disappoint anyone, so she joined Ardashir and took the wooden knife he offered her, after setting her scarf and regular knife in a little pile where they would be out of her way. The lesson started off as usual, with getting her body warm and ready to move. They danced around each other, feinting and reacting, trying to use every muscle possible. It was several minutes before Ardashir would let her attack, and by then, Rose felt more alive than ever.

He had taught her a few specific moves, but he had also taught her never to rely on them, and that she would be safest if she used her instincts but kept them honed as a fighter ought to. The fight soon became sharp and dirty, and it was over in less than a minute, with Rose jamming the tip of her wooden knife into Ardashir's gut. He grunted and released her from the headlock he'd been trying to get her in, and she stumbled away, gasping and looking at him for his response. He always gave her some kind of feedback, even if it was nothing more than a nod of approval before they started again.

"Good," he said, "but go faster this time."

Lately that felt like all he had said. _Faster. Faster. Faster. _She understood why; if a fight was over quickly, she wasn't too tired out to face whoever came at her next. Still, there was something exhilarating about drawing out a fight and letting it linger for as long as possible.

"I wonder who I'll train with next," she said as she launched into another attack, this time trying to go for the Achilles tendon. "After you've left, I mean."

"No talking," Ardashir said. "Breathe." He was always terse in fights, though he could allegedly be quite eloquent.

"Talking helps me control my breathing," Rose said. "It's a learning technique."

She doubted Ardashir believed her, but it made him laugh, and while he was slightly distracted, she slammed the side of her blade against his right Achilles tendon before poking his left kidney with the tip.

"And it distracts you," she added as she got to her feet.

"You should keep training," Ardashir said. "You're quick and clever, and I will never forgive you if you walk away from all you can do." He smiled. "Now, I will teach you something special. Do you want to learn how the assassins of my land fight when they duel one another?"

"Yes," Rose said at once.

Ardashir's smile grew, and he began moving like a shadow, explaining as he spoke, telling her of history and myths.


	18. The Watery Gates

Rose had thought the pirates would leave sometime in April, so she lingered as long as she could on the ship. Each good-bye felt like it would be her last, but the next day they were still there, and the next, and the next, all the way through April and well into May. By that time, Rose had gotten used to filling every one of her spare seconds, but she was beginning to feel stretched thin.

Something would have to go.

The only problem was that she didn't know what to sacrifice. Giving up her studies wasn't an option. She didn't want to walk away from Ruby, Albus, and Scorpius either, especially not since she actually felt a bit friendly around Scorpius. That only left the pirates, but she didn't want to give up her time with them. She was still learning, and since they would be leaving any day now, she wanted to get as much learning as possible in before they did. She could fight, and swear in four different languages, and do everything a cabin girl needed to know how to do, but there was still so much more for her to know.

Sometimes she worried that they were still grooming her to go with them. After all, Captain Anholts spoke to her as though she were a member of his family, maybe even a member of his crew. Rike and Vittore treated her like a younger sister, and Tavian was still surly and cold, though Rose had convinced Captain Anholts not to lock him in the brig. Sometimes she thought she ought to never return to the ship, but then she would feel her knife pressing gently against her chest and think of how much there still was to learn, and she would return.

It was late May before the ship was finally prepared to leave, and as soon as Rose stepped onboard, she could tell everything was different. The crew had become tense, as though they were waiting for something to happen, and the ship felt almost new, even though she knew it likely hadn't been new in many years. Rike was terse on the way there, and Captain Anholts only spared her a brief smile before returning to whatever business he had been doing. Ardashir had no time for her, and Rose found herself standing near Vittore, looking down at the dark blue water.

"Looks like the two of us are stuck here for a while," Vittore said with a smile. "You're too young to help, and whatever that thing did to my magic, I can't cast this spell."

"You're leaving today?" Rose asked. Excitement and sadness fought inside her. She wanted to see the spell and had wanted it ever since she had heard about it, but she didn't want the pirates to leave, even if it would give her more free time. She wouldn't know what to do with herself if she couldn't be busy.

Vittore nodded. "The captain's been talking about throwing a going-away party for you to say good-bye. As soon as the spell's ready, we'll celebrate."

A party was nice, but Rose had questions now, and since Vittore didn't look like she was going anywhere, it was the perfect time to ask. "So the spell can be delayed?" she asked. "Is there some ritual where you can set it up and then cast it later?"

Vittore frowned. "That's how a great deal of magic works," she said. "There are some points in the casting where it's better to stop and rest, but really, you could stop the spell at any point as long as you pick it back up right where you started." She turned her face to Rose. "How does magic work here, then?"

Rose wasn't familiar enough with the theory – she doubted anyone she knew was – but she was able to explain about waving a wand and saying a few words, and she talked for a while about potions, and about magic that was stranger and darker but that she had no experience with. Vittore listened, and nodded, and sometimes asked questions that Rose didn't know the answer to.

"It's a pity I'll never be able to learn more about this," Vittore said with a sigh. "It sounds utterly fascinating."

"I could find a way to write to you," Rose said, before remembering that the only way she had found to get in touch with other worlds was through the pirates, and she doubted they would pass Albus's letter on to Avina. Her face fell, and she looked out at the water again.

Vittore set a hand on her back. "It can't be helped," she said gently. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."

Beneath them, the waters shifted, and while they still looked like water, something deep inside them seemed to be rising. It had a faint red glow, and Rose wasn't sure how she could make it out through the blue of the water. Curious, she leaned over the side of the ship, and only Vittore's hands on her shoulders kept her from toppling into the lake.

"What's that?" she asked, and if her weight weren't resting mostly on her hands, she would have pointed at the shape. It was unidentifiable so far, but it looked slightly familiar.

"It's the spell," Vittore said. "They'll bring it up so that as soon as the party's done and we're set to go, they can cast it and we'll be off."

The sound of a fight distracted Rose from the magic, and she turned, wriggling away from Vittore's grasp to see what was happening. She wasn't at all surprised to see Tavian involved – he had been snapping at his fellow pirates more often – but she was surprised to see two men holding him by the arms while Liesa struck him in the stomach and face. "What's going on?" Rose asked, and she started toward them, but Vittore grabbed her shoulder again.

"It's nothing you need to concern yourself with," she said in a low voice.

"But what if it is?" Rose again pulled free of Vittore's grasp and strode over to the group. "Hey!" she called, and the four froze. "What's going on?"

"I'm punishing him as a traitor deserves," Liesa said. "It's for your sake that I didn't bring out the lash."

Rose had almost forgotten how dangerous they were, and a little shiver ran down her spine. "What did he do?" she asked.

Before Liesa could respond, Tavian looked up. A cut over one eye dripped blood onto his face, as did his broken nose and split lip. "Rose!" he gasped, and his eyes were wide with terror. "You've got to get out of here, Rose. It's a trap!"

Liesa backhanded him, and if the two men hadn't held him, he would have stumbled against the side of the ship. "That's enough," she hissed, but already a cold dread had settled onto Rose, and she took a step back.

"Is he telling the truth?" she asked, her voice shaking. "Is this a trap?"

"I wouldn't think of it as a trap," Captain Anholts said. "It's more our own little way of recruiting." He smiled, and for the first time his smile seemed sinister rather than kind. "How else do you think I managed to get such a varied crew? Not many people would be willing to leave their homes and worlds to travel with a man they'd only known a few weeks. I thought I was lucky with you, since we'd had months together, but in the end, I suppose I still had to resort to this."

"You kidnapped everyone here?" Rose looked around at the rest of the crew and wondered what they had been like when they joined. Had they fought, or had they been resigned to what would happen?

"I suppose it was that way at first," Captain Anholts said. "A few, like Liesa and Vittore, joined me willingly. Others had to be coerced. You were a tricky one, especially since I had two malcontents on my ship." He set a hand on her shoulder and stepped in front of her, blocking her view of Tavian. "There were two people who wanted you to just stay here and be happy, and while I thought I got rid of the worst troublemaker, it appears I was wrong." He lowered his voice as though he wanted to share a secret with her. "I hope you won't look too unkindly on me if Tavian has an unfortunate illness. I know the two of you were never very fond of each other, so I hope you won't grieve too much."

The cold feeling settled deeper into Rose, and she shuddered, but this time with rage rather than fear. "What really happened to Horus?" she asked. "His illness…"

"A necessary lie," Captain Anholts said.

With a sharp cry, Rose struck him across the chest with her open hand. He didn't flinch, but she hadn't thought he would. It was a weak blow from an unarmed girl. "You killed him!" she shrieked, and wrenched herself away from his grasp. "Murderer!"

"Not at all," the captain said, his voice growing cold. "I never laid a hand on that boy to harm him. It was all Vittore's doing."

Rose turned, hoping Vittore would look shocked and deny it, but instead the woman smiled. Another chill ran through her, and she grabbed her knife, holding it in the grip Ardashir had taught her for when she had to face multiple enemies. Perhaps he had known, or perhaps it was simply something he had thought would be useful when she was one of them.

"I told you, I'm not leaving," she said, stepping back slowly. She might be able to get to the longboat, and she might be able to row away. She had never tried to handle it on her own, but she was stronger now, and she was certain she could achieve something. "You can plead, or you can trick me, but you'll never get me to leave this world. It's my home, and if that thing is coming to find people I care about, then I want to be here to protect them."

"That's a noble goal," Captain Anholts said as he and Vittore advanced on her. "I'd much rather have you here, so I can protect you."

"I already have people to protect me," Rose said. "I've got a large family, and my brother would never let anything happen to me." A glance over her shoulder showed her two pirates blocking her way to the longboat. She'd have to get through them somehow. "And I can take care of myself," she added.

"How?" Captain Anholts asked. "You're a twelve-year-old girl. I doubt you can even make it off this ship."

"Of course I can," she said, though half her certainty was bravado. "I'll make it off, and I'll leave you all far behind." Her hand shook a little, but she forced it to be steady. "Once I'm in the school, you can't touch me."

"You'll have to reach the school first," Vittore said. She and the captain had stepped apart and now approached Rose from different angles, flanking her. "It's just you and a knife, and no matter what Ardashir's taught you, I doubt you'd be willing to hurt any of us."

"I won plenty of fights against him," Rose said.

"Play fights," Ardashir spoke up from behind her, "with a wooden knife. It's like the captain said. You've got a few years to go before you'd be willing to kill anyone."

"Put the knife down," Captain Anholts said. "Not one of us will hurt you, and if anyone does, I'll see that the person is suitably punished." His smile was kind again, and fatherly, and Rose's hand shook all the more. Ardashir was right. She couldn't kill any of them.

But she still had to find a way out. She couldn't leave.


	19. The Escape

Rose turned in a quick circle, surveying her possibilities. It didn't look good; there were too many pirates for her to fight at once, and she was sure that if she attacked them with her knife, they would respond in kind. A trick of sweat ran down the back of her neck, and she wondered what she could possibly do to save herself.

"Put down the knife," Captain Anholts said. "It's the only weapon you've got, and once you're unarmed, there'll be no reason for you to worry."

It was her only weapon, she realized, but as she bent to set it on the deck, she felt a thin piece of wood press against her arm and slide into her hand. _It's the only weapon I can use to kill_, she realized, and her hand closed around her wand. It was reassuring against her palm, and she smiled. Even if she did set the knife on the deck, she wouldn't be entirely defenseless.

But she wouldn't give up the knife. It was hers, and it would stay with her, as a reminder that she was clever and lucky and could survive just about anything that happened.

"What are you smiling about?" Vittore asked. "Put down the knife."

"No." Before any of the pirates could run at her, Rose shot to her feet, aimed her wand directly at Captain Anholts, and cried, "_Rictumsempra!_"

Captain Anholts staggered back, and for a split second, everyone stared, no doubt wondering what Rose had done to him. Then he doubled over, bursting into laughter so strong he could barely stand. Still the other pirates were dumbstruck, which gave Rose the chance to strike again, aiming her wand at everyone she could find.

"_Rictumsempra! Rictumsempra! Rictumsempra!"_

It wasn't long before every pirate was either rolling about on the deck in fits of hysterical laughter or retreating. Rose didn't bother to pursue the ones who fell back; as soon as she had her chance, she ran to the longboat and sprang in.

"Tavian!" she called, leaning over the stern. She had spared him from her attack, and now she held out her hand, her knife having been returned to its place under her shirt. "Tavian, come on! You can escape!"

He shook his head. "I can't go with you. I don't know this world. I'll be better off here."

Rose lowered her hand, feeling guilty about how relieved she was that she didn't have to bring him with her. He had proven to be trustworthy, but she couldn't forget how sullen he had been, and how he had treated Horus. She didn't want to abandon him, but he was right; he wouldn't be able to adapt to modern Britain.

"Go," Tavian said. "I'll be all right. I promise."

Rose nodded – she had no choice but to believe him – and with two quick gasps of "_Diffindo!_" she severed the ropes connecting the longboat to the ship and dropped into the water. It fell quickly and splashed in, but she couldn't wait for it to settle before grabbing an oar and starting to row back to shore. She didn't think she could manage both oars at once, but she was strong enough to use one, and she paddled as quickly as she could, driving the oar into the water and pushing herself along, heading to shore as quickly as she could.

With every stroke, though, she was sure she wasn't moving fast enough. Whenever she glanced over her shoulder, the ship didn't seem to be growing any smaller, and when she looked to the shore, it barely seemed any slower. Maybe Tavian would be able to keep the pirates busy long enough for her to escape. Maybe her spell would last until she could make it ashore and run inside.

Or maybe she wouldn't escape at all, and the pirates' cannons would kill her.

A cannonball rushed over her head and crashed into the water about a meter and a half in front of her, and Rose squeaked with fear, nearly dropping her oar. She did her best to steer around where it had landed, but another crashed into the lake beside her, close enough to soak her with water. That time she screamed, and she screamed again when another landed right behind her, creating a wave that pushed the boat forward a bit.

Then the boat was racing forward seemingly under its own power, fast enough that the oar slipped from Rose's hands. All she could do was grip the sides and hold on as she sped toward shore, and toward a man who looked more and more familiar as she drew closer.

"Professor Longbottom!" Rose gasped, and the boat skidded up onto shore. Longbottom grabbed her arm and pulled her up out of the boat so quickly she stumbled over the edge.

"What happened?" he asked, looking over her. "Are you hurt?"

Rose shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "Just a bit shaken." That was the greatest understatement she had ever made, but now that she was safely on the shore and – hopefully – out of range of the ship's cannons, she had started to recover from her nervousness. "How did you know I would be out here?"

"I didn't, but now that I know it was you, I'm not surprised." He grinned, and Rose couldn't help smiling a little as well. "Your parents were always getting into trouble, and I suppose it only runs in the family. I just hope your brother's not as rambunctious as you are." He pulled her into a quick hug, then started up to the castle, with Rose following at a half-run. "I want Hannah to look over you, just to make sure you're all right."

"I'm fine," Rose insisted, but Longbottom shook his head.

"You could have been killed. If I hadn't Summoned the boat to shore, you might have been." His normal cheer had faded, and now he looked serious, even grim. "No one will lay a hand on you if there's anything I can do to prevent it, Rose."

* * *

><p>Madame Longbottom determined there was nothing at all wrong with Rose aside from perhaps the shock of being shot at with cannons and of being soaked through. After changing into some dry clothes and drinking some spiced tea that Zahradnik had apparently insisted be used in place of Pepper-Up Potion, Rose was declared perfectly healthy, and she headed back to her dormitory for a nap. She hadn't napped since she was very little, but as soon as she reached the Gryffindor common room, all she wanted to do was sleep.<p>

She woke in time for dinner, gave her hair a quick brush, and ran down to the Great Hall, absolutely ravenous. She couldn't recall being quite so hungry before, though it was hardly a surprise. There was likely something about near-death situations that drained a person.

The Great Hall was mostly full by the time she arrived, but she managed to find a spot next to James just before the food appeared. It had never smelled so delicious, and Rose loaded up her plate with everything she could reach and dug in eagerly, alternating bites of roast pork and buttered bread, and taking swigs of pumpkin juice from her goblet whenever her throat started to feel dry.

"Long day?" James asked with a grin. Rose only nodded and continued to eat.

Just before dessert, the meal was interrupted.

The doors to the Great Hall swung open, and everyone inside fell silent as Captain Anholts, Liesa, Rike, Vittore, and several other pirates entered. Tavian wasn't among their number, and Rose couldn't tell whether she ought to be relieved that he wouldn't join them in storming Hogwarts or worried for his safety. There wasn't much time for her to decide, though, as Captain Anholts strode between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables, stopping just before the professors' table. Zahradnik got to her feet, and there was a danger in her eyes that Rose wanted to cheer for, and she would have if there hadn't been such a deadly silence lying over everyone else.

"What do you want here?" Zahradnik asked. "I granted you leave to use the lake to repair your ship. I did not allow you to disturb our meals."

"I apologize," Captain Anholts said, but all the friendliness of before was completely gone. Now he sounded sharp and cold, almost as much as Zahradnik had. "I'm only here because a member of my crew has attempted to abandon us, and I wish to recover her before I leave."

Rose tensed, and she reached under her shirt to grab her knife. She hadn't thought to take it off, and now she wasn't sure whether she ought to draw it or stay hidden.

"There are no crew members of yours here," Zahradnik said. "The only people in this hall aside from yourselves are students and faculty, and I will ask you once more to leave before I am forced to throw you out." She sat then, and took a sip from her golden goblet, not even bothering to look at Captain Anholts.

The captain wouldn't be sent away so easily though, and he reached for the sword at his side. Before anyone could react, Rose sprang to her feet and stepped up onto the bench so she rose above the heads of everyone else. "I'm right here!" she called, drawing her knife and sliding her wand out of her sleeve into her other hand. "If you want me, come and get me! I beat you before, and I'll do it again."

Everyone stared at her, and Rose felt a flush of embarrassment rise up into her cheeks. What was she thinking? A twelve-year-old trying to take on a group of pirates? Just because her uncle had faced a basilisk when he was her age didn't mean she could fight a group of hardened killers with only her wand and a knife. She had been lucky before, but she might not be so again. She had to force herself not to care about how foolish she was being. She was a Gryffindor, and she was bold. She wouldn't be taken from her home.

Captain Anholts smiled. "You're a brave one, Rose," he said. "I should have realized that before coming here to steal you away."

"Does this mean you'll leave?" she asked.

The captain bowed his head. "I'm afraid that if I don't, you'll summon everyone here to fight by your side. Even if you make it an honorable fight, one against one, we wouldn't stand a chance. If even half the people in this school are like you, then we don't stand a chance. They would never let us take you away."

She lowered her knife a little, frowning. "So you're just going to give up? You stayed for months to take me away. What's going on?"

Captain Anholts laughed. "Don't think of it as us giving up," he said. "We never do that. We only ever postpone our plans." After saluting both her and Zahradnik, he turned and left the Great Hall, the rest of the pirates in tow. As soon as the doors were closed, Rose sank back to her seat and put away her wand and knife. Everyone in the hall started talking, and at first Rose barely noticed that James was trying to get her attention.

"What?" she asked after he tapped her arm for the third time.

"That was really badass," he said, and pulled her into a hug. She hugged him back, and he whispered, "I would have fought all those pirates to keep you here. And I would have won."

"Really?" Rose asked. She wanted to laugh but could only think of another fifteen-year-old who had wanted to help her.

"Yeah," James said. "I'm a Gryffindor, and you're my favorite cousin. Besides, I'm a Potter. No one gets in the way of our family and lives." He kissed the top of her head.


	20. After

The lake looked empty with the pirates gone, almost lonely, and even though she had studying to do for exams, Rose still went out to sit on the shore and look out at where it had been. She couldn't help missing them, even after what they had done, and she hated herself a little for missing them. She was acting like a heartsick girl, even though she was a Gryffindor and ought to be bolder than that.

But she was also a girl, and there wasn't any reason for her not to be heartsick. She had been betrayed by people she had thought were her friends. Anyone would be hurt by that. The only question was whether she would keep feeling sorry for herself or whether she would take a few more days to get over it.

The process took more than a few days, but partly because she needed to go back and relearn everything she needed to know for finals, she recovered rather quickly. Most of her days were spent in the library, studying with Ruby, Albus, and Scorpius. All the work they had to do felt incredibly dull, at least compared to the theoretical readings they had been doing before, and at least once a day Rose was tempted to toss aside the notes Ruby had saved up over the year in favor of a heavy book written in Latin that they would have to puzzle out. Ruby wouldn't let her, though, and every day Rose would sigh and return to the notes.

"It's just so boring," she said toward the end of May, on a day they had set aside for Charms. Scorpius, unsurprisingly, was doing well, even better than Rose, and that made her feel more bitter than usual. "Why can't we do something fun?"

"I think this is fun," Scorpius said, and he narrowly avoided the wadded up piece of paper Rose threw at him. Albus scurried off to collect it, and Rose groaned as loudly as she dared.

"You only think it's fun because you're winning," she said, slumping onto the table. "If you were doing as badly as I am, you wouldn't be having fun at all."

"You mean, if I were doing as badly as I usually do compared to you?" Rose lifted her head and saw that the smile had faded from Scorpius's face. "What about if I were doing the same as Ruby and Albus are compared to both of us? Would I be having any less fun then?"

Neither Ruby nor Albus met Rose's eyes, and she bit her lip. She'd never felt ashamed before, and she didn't like it at all. "That isn't what I meant," she said in a low voice, but she didn't know if Scorpius would bother to look at her. He would probably just get up and leave, and Albus and Ruby would likely go with him. She wanted to think that she wouldn't be bitter and snappish over the next few days at them, but the only other possibility was that she would be lonely and melancholy, and she liked that even less.

A bit too brightly, Ruby said, "I never thought you were a sore loser, Rose! I always thought you took things in stride."

"I never really had to lose before," Rose admitted. "I've always been good at everything." Losing to her father at Wizard Chess hardly counted, and neither did losing at James for the most part, since both of them were so much older than she was and had more experience with just about everything.

"Well, you just have to try harder," Ruby said cheerfully. "We've all been working really hard, and even if Albus and I aren't as good as you and Scorpius, we still manage to have some fun."

"I have been trying," Rose said. "It's just that none of this is interesting anymore."

Albus got to his feet. "Maybe we should take a break," he said, gathering up his stuff. "Want to meet outside tomorrow? The Quidditch season's over, so we can do some practical work on the pitch. I've been wanting to try out some of the spells we've been studying, and maybe we can even have a little fun and do some third year spells."

Everyone packed up after that, and Rose headed up to Gryffindor Tower accompanied, to her surprise, by Scorpius.

"Sorry I snapped at you," he said. "It was just really annoying, hearing you talk about how hard you have it when you're the top of the class."

Rose shrugged. "I'll try not to be as obnoxious next year." She didn't accept his apology, nor did she say he had been right, but the mood between them lightened a little. "Do you still want to hang out next year? If I'm not as annoying?"

"Sure," Scorpius said with a smile. "I'd like that."

* * *

><p>Exams went well, and just as the year before, Rose did the best out of all the second years. A few Ravenclaws teased her, and she teased them right back, though only a few seemed genuinely angry that she had done better. The older students who heard about it actually congratulated her, though she suspected it was partly because they were as annoyed by the younger Ravenclaws as she could be. She did splendidly in Herbology, of course, and in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and while Scorpius did slightly better than she had in Charms, she wasn't bitter. At least, not too much.<p>

"Next year," she told James as they packed up their things for the train ride. "I'll get him next year."

"Isn't that what you said last year?" he asked with a grin.

"That's different," she said, crossing her arms over her chest. "I got distracted by the pirates this year. Next year there won't be any distractions. It'll just be me and him."

"Or maybe there'll be even worse distractions," James said, his grin growing wicked. "Thirty Sickles says you two hook up next year." When Rose threw a sock at him, he laughed and deflected it with a flick of his wand and a "_Wingardium Leviosa!" _When it had fallen to the floor, he asked, "What? You don't still think boys have cooties, do you? I thought you outgrew that when you were five."

"It's not cooties," Rose said, wrinkling her nose. "Hooking up's for older kids, and for people who don't have anything better to do."

James shook his head. "Just you wait," he said. "One of these days, you'll get a boyfriend, and you'll change a fair bit. Maybe you'll even stop studying as much." When Rose scoffed, he added, "You'd be surprised. Lujayn's made me not as much of a rule-breaker, so anything could happen."

Rose stuck out her tongue, and James tried to throw the sock back at her, but she ducked and ran off, laughing.

* * *

><p>The train ride back to King's Cross was just as cheerful as it had been the previous year. Rose was invited to join Scorpius, Albus, and Ruby in their compartment, and they tried to find ways to play four-player games with an Exploding Snap deck. Ruby coaxed them into playing Go Fish, but when three different cards blew up, leaving them with three more that couldn't be matched, they gave up.<p>

"I'm tired of having things explode in my face, anyway," Scorpius muttered, and he would have wiped the ash away from his eyes, but Ruby grabbed his wrist and pulled it away.

"Not yet," Ruby said with a grin. "I want to treasure this first."

It was an amusing sight. Scorpius's skin had turned bright pink from the heat of the latest explosion, and the ash on his face had left dark stains everywhere that were startling against his pale hair and eyebrows. After a few minutes of laughing – and showing him his reflection in a little mirror Ruby carried with her so he could laugh too – they let him wipe away the worst of the ash, though a few marks remained.

"At least it was only two," Albus said. The third had blown up when he drew it from the deck, and none of them had let him draw another.

"I'd rather not have any," Scorpius said, but he smiled, and the smile didn't fade at all the rest of the way home.

They shared sweets of all sorts, and swapped Chocolate Frog cards – Ruby got a Rowena Ravenclaw and wouldn't give it up even for all of theirs combined, and when Rose asked what she would give it up for, she only giggled and blushed before sticking it in her suitcase – and Rose told them all about the pirates, or as much as she could remember from all she had learned. She didn't talk about Horus, but she told them about Tavian being brave and about how she had beaten them.

"It's just like Dad and the Disarming Spell," Albus said, and he launched into a story about how his father had used the Disarming Spell as his signature when fighting Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Scorpius shuddered a little at the name Voldemort, but Albus and Rose had heard it often enough that they weren't disturbed by it, and Ruby didn't know why anyone would be afraid of a name.

As soon as Albus had finished his story, Ruby turned to Rose and asked, "Can I see your knife?" Rose got it from her suitcase, and for the next several minutes they all passed it around. She showed them a few of the moves she had learned, but they didn't look as excited as she had been when she learned them, so it wasn't long before she put the knife away again.

"What do you think will happen next year?" Albus asked. "This year Rose got to hang out with pirates, last year I fell in love with a princess, so what'll happen for our third year?"

"I don't know, but I hope it's my turn," Ruby said. "It's about time I had an adventure."

"What kind do you want?" Scorpius asked.

"I don't know… a library." The pause between the phrases lasted only a few seconds, and as soon as she decided, her eyes lit up. "I want to find a mystical library filled with all sorts of magical secrets, and then I'll do better than all of you on the exams."

"Not a chance," Rose said at once. "You were third-best this year, and you'll be third-best next year. There's no way you're beating me, and I doubt you'll beat Scorpius, either."

"Really?" Scorpius looked at her as though amazed she would say something like that about him. Rose blushed a little and quickly changed the subject.

There wasn't much need to change it, though, for a few minutes later they reached King's Cross, and after that it was a scramble to gather all their things and get out. Good-byes were said, and Albus met up with James to join their parents. Rose found her own parents, and Hugo ran up to give her a hug. She laughed and ruffled his hair, and her father took her suitcase as they went back to the car.

"Top marks again," she said, passing the paper with her scores on it to her paper. "I beat Scorpius in just about everything."

"Just about?" Hugo asked, and Rose ruffled his hair again. She decided she would do that even when he got taller than her, just because it would annoy him then.

"I'll have to practice Charms over the summer," she said.

Her father tossed her suitcase in the trunk of their car, and they all got in. Since they were only four people, there wasn't any need for any magic on it, and Rose doubted her mother would let anyone try anything. "How did the rest of your year go?" her mother asked as they left the parking lot.

"It was exciting."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** And here's the end of Year Two! Thanks to everyone who read and enjoyed, and look out for the next part of the story! Because I've got more free time, it'll start tomorrow and be about the growing friendship between Scorpius and Rose. Keep an eye out for Book Three: An Unexpected Friend.


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